you can't change her
by EndWorldPeas
Summary: Repost. Just a story about two girls falling in love. Bacon.
1. Chapter 1

"Could life get any better than this?" Emily grinned and shook her head at Maya's question.

It was the first warm day after a long, bone-chilling winter. The sun was shinning on their skin, warming every inch of them. She and Maya were lying on their backs in the middle of a meadow. They kept their gazes on the sky while they played with each other's fingers. Just enjoying each other's company. Emily relished in moments like this. Maya was so hot and cold sometimes that Emily had learned to hold onto these moments with her for as long as possible. Emily blocked out the rest of the world and told herself that she and Maya were the only two people that existed.

"No, life doesn't get any better than this moment right now. We might as well stay here forever and never move from this spot!" Emily squealed as she leapt to her feet. "We can build a small house right here. During the day we will collect berries and at night, we will cuddle together until the sun rises again. Oh, it would be so romantic!"

"Em, be real and lie down," Maya said with a laugh.

"Hey, a girl can dream can't she? We'll just need to figure out how to have a pool installed." Emily said as she continued to daydream. Maya didn't respond; she simply rolled her eyes and continued gazing at the sky.

Emily began to relax too much as the warm air swirled around her body. The tall blades of grass around her swayed back and forth in a hypnotic dance. She fought to stay awake, but it was no use. She slowly drifted to sleep next to Maya, feeling safe and warm.

When a gust of cold air hit her she groaned and tried to reach for Maya. Her hand came up empty, though. She stood up in a panic and strained her eyes trying to see through the now dark night. _Maya, where is Maya? _she thought. Her mind was racing and she began to assume the worst: _A bear! Oh no a bear took her. Get a grip. There are no bears in Rosewood. I think. Maybe. Hopefully. Oh GOD! _"Maya," she yelled fanatically into the dark. She waiting, but heard no response. "MAAYYYYAA..." she yelled as loud as could until her voice cracked. Still nothing. Fear was grabbing at her stomach now and twisting it into knots. Her legs began to feel heavy, but her mind willed her to run. She just didn't know which direction she should be running in. The moon was not out that night and without its light she could not see her hand in front of her face. _Think Emily, think, think, _"My phone!" She grabbed her phone and pushed the button to wake it up from its nap. She glanced at the home screen noticing there was a text from Maya:

**_Hey Sweets, I got bored and left. U looked so peaceful I didn't to wake u. XO Maya._**

"What! You left me alone in a field because you were 'bored' and I 'looked peaceful'" Emily said. It was more of a statement of disbelief than a question. _Ok, it's fine. I'll just call her and she'll come get me, _Emily thought.

After four rings she got Maya's voicemail, "Hi, Babe, it's me. I was wondering if you can get me from the field. I slept well into the night and now I can't see my way out of here. My phone is almost dead, so can you please hurry?" Emily waited...and waited...and waited. An hour had passed with no word from Maya and her phone had long since died. It was almost 11:00 pm now and the air was getting colder.

The feeling of being safe and warm became a distant memory for Emily. She began to realize that she was going to have to get herself home. She mustered up all of her courage and began to walk. Wishing that she hadn't wasted the last of her cell phone battery on a call to Maya because she really could have used a light. _Was it left at the tree or right? Am I walking in circles? Oh God, what was that? Are those eyes?! _Her fearful thoughts were not helping her situation. She tried to keep her head down and keep going, but her fear terrified her into freezing sometimes. She regretting watching every scary movie that she had ever watched and vowed to stick to rom-coms from now on. "Ryan Gosling would have never left Rachel McAdams in the woods by herself," she said out loud. Her voice was the only thing keeping her company. Suddenly, she heard a branch snap. She whipped her head around to try to see what caused it before remembering it was too dark to even see her own eyelashes. Like the girls in the horror movies, she took off running in no particular direction. Just running for her life. She opening her eyes as wide as she could hoping that perhaps she would develop the ability to see in the dark. She kept running, her lungs burned, until she tripped on a rock. Not being able to get her arms out in time she broke her fall with her face. Too stunned to move, she lay there, hoping that she put enough distance between her and the vile creature the broke the stick. She felt the blood roll down the side of her face and suddenly became aware of the gash above her right eye. Tears started to stream down her face, mixing with the blood and sweat. "HELP! Help me please," she yelled and started to sob uncontrollably.

"Stop yelling, I'm here," a stern voice said from behind her.

_Ok that's not Maya! Creeper in the woods! NO! _Emily panicked and jumped to her feet ready for fight. The pain radiating from her head wound was too much for her, though, and it knocked her back on her ass.

"S-stay away from me. I know...karate," it sounded more like a question, but Emily hoped it would do the trick.

"Well make up your mind. Do you want me to stay away from you or do you want help," the stranger asked with a laugh.

Emily sighed. She knew this was her only hope, "help, please."

She felt the stranger move closer to her and realized they were wearing a headlamp. It was shining a small light on the ground until the light reached Emily's face. She could hear the person breathing; feel their warmth now, but could not see their face. Suddenly a warm, leather jacket was covering Emily's shoulders. It smelled like daisies and chlorine. Her stomach jumped as she breathed the scent in deeply. She started to relax and feel safe again. The pain returned as a rag was now being pressed onto the cut on her head. She took a sharp breath and winced.

"Ow! Stop," Emily protested as she moved her face away.

"Oh come on, I thought you were a tough girl. After all, you were ready to kick my ass with your karate skills just a minute ago," the stranger teased.

Emily knew she had been caught in a lie, "I might have exaggerated my toughness."

"You had me fooled," the stranger said.

Emily perked up, "Really?"

"No, not really," the stranger laughed. Emily could tell from the movement of the light that the girl dipped her head when she laughed that time. "Okay, I think the bleeding is under control for now. Just hold the rag for me so I can get you out of here."

Emily took over holding the rag. She felt strong arms wrap around her, pulling her to her feet. Emily noticed how warm the girl's arms were despite the cold temperature. She could feel hot breath against her ear as she stumbled towards her support system a little bit, catching herself on broad shoulders. All at once she felt like it was too hot for a jacket.

"Just lean on me okay. I've got you," the stranger whispered in her ear.

Emily nodded her head, very aware of the increasing wobble in her legs. With one foot in front of the other they began to walk forward. Emily was surprised about how much she was relying on this person she did not know. She realized that she didn't know her name or had even seen her face. All she knew is she felt safe and the stranger smelled like daisies and chlorine. _Chlorine._

"Are you a swimmer," Emily asked her hero.

"Uh...no."

"Oh sorry, your jacket and skin smell-" Emily blushed when she realized she admitted to leaning into her rescuer more than she needed to. Still, she continued, "like chlorine. I'm on the swim team at Rosewood High and everything I own smells like chlorine. No matter how much I shower I cannot get the smell out of my hair."

"I don't swim," was all the stranger said. Emily could tell that she was a little more short with her and more stiff than she had been earlier. Emily worried that she had said something to make her feel uncomfortable.

They continued to walk for another ten minutes. Neither one of them saying anything. _Ask what her name is. Name. Ask her name! _Emily repeated to herself internally. When they reached the trailhead Emily's mother had just got there. She rushed up to her daughter, sobbing, clutching her daughter in a desperate hug.

"Oh my God, Emily! I was so worried about you. Are you ok? Are you hurt? What happened," Emily's mother, Pam, said through the tears.

"Mom, I'm fine. Just a cut on my head. You should thank...Hey, where did she go," Emily said as she looked around for her hero. Emily realized that her rescuer had slipped away during the commotion with her mom. She clutched the jacket around her shoulders and leaned up against her mom. "We have to find her."

"I think she left, Emmy, but we'll find her later. Come on Sweetie, let's get you to the hospital," Pam said. Emily nodded and walked to the car. She wondered when she was going to get to thank the person that saved her.

Four stitches later, Emily left the hospital and was back in her own bed. After plugging her phone in she turn it on, certain she would find a text or missed call from Maya. She braced herself for what Maya's excuse was going to be. Emily's heart sank when she realized that the only texts had come from: her mom, Spencer, Hanna, and Aria.

**_Emily, where are you? Call me. -Mom_**

**_Hello Em, where are you? Text me. -Spencer_**

**_Emily, OMG we are worried sick. :( Call us. -Hanna_**

**_Where are u? Please call us. -Aria_**

Emily sent a mass text to her friends letting them know that she was okay, but tired. She would tell them all about it in the morning at school. She debated calling Maya, but decided against it. She was sure she would hear from Maya tomorrow. Pam bombarded Emily with questions about why she was in the meadow. Emily did not want to tell her mom that Maya had left her out there. Her mom was already not Maya's biggest fan. She felt relief when her mother agreed to drop the subject until tomorrow. That would give her more time to come up with valid reason.

Emily dropped her phone on her bed and lay back against the pillows. She realized that she was still wearing the leather jacket. She pulled the material of the jacket to her nose and inhaled deeply; she felt butterflies in her stomach this time. _Definitely chlorine, _she thought. She let her mind drift to the stranger that had found her in the woods. _What was her name? What was she doing out there? Why did she start to shut me out when I asked her about swimming? _Emily drifted to sleep, still wrapped up in the jacket that she was pulling tightly around her.


	2. Chapter 2

YCCH

2

Emily's alarm clearly did not know how much pain her head was in; if it had it might have woke her up a little more softly. Instead, her alarm screamed for her to get up and jolted her awake. _That's rude, _Emily thought, _why can't someone invent an alarm that wakes you up with a soft kiss on your forehead. _Emily slammed her hand down on top of her alarm, shutting it up instantly. "That'll teach you," she said, proud of herself. Closing her eyes, she tried to settle back into sleep again. After eight minutes she dangled somewhere between awake and dreamland when her alarm started blaring again. "Ugh, I thought I'd killed you," she sighed as she pulled the covers back over her head, "why won't you die?" After shutting it off again she heard a gentle knock on her door.

"Emily, Honey, are you awake," her mom asked as she peeked her head into her room.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm up."

"How are you feeling? I was thinking that maybe it would be a good idea for you to stay home today," her mom checked her over with a concerned look in her eye.

"No, Mom, I'll be fine. I just have a little headache," Emily couldn't believe she was arguing with her mom to_ let _her go to school. She wanted to see her friends, though, and she especially wanted to see Maya. She glanced at her phone and saw that Maya had finally texted her back. Emily was very interested in hearing why Maya thought it was a good idea to leave her alone in the woods.

"Okay, but no swim practice today. Deal? I already talked to your coach and she agreed you should sit out the next couple days."

"But, Mom, a couple d..." Emily's mom cut her off before Emily could finish her sentence.

"No arguing. It's just a couple days, you won't forget how to swim by then. Also, I called Hanna, she is taking you to school because you shouldn't be driving."

"I feel like I am being punished for getting hurt," Emily crossed her arms and pouted.

"Your not being punished. I'm letting you go to school, right?"

Emily rolled her eyes and mumbled, "thanks."

After her mom left, Emily grabbed her phone to read the text from Maya:

**_Hey Sweets, sorry I missed your call. See you at school. XO_**

_Really that's it? 'Sorry I missed your call.' I could have been eaten by a bear and all she has to say is that she is sorry she missed my call. Oh she is going to pay for this. _Emily was more angry than she wanted to admit. She sat up and heard the now familiar sound of leather moving with her. Her stomach fluttered as she touched the material. The jacket was a woman's cut that fit snuggly around her midsection. It fit her well except the sleeves were a little too long and the shoulders were a little too wide. She finally removed the jacket and started inspecting it closely hoping that it would give her some clues about her rescuer. She noticed that the jacket had been tailored and that it likely formed to her rescuer's body perfectly. She ran her finger tips over the soft, daring, red leather; she remembered how warm she felt as soon as the jacket was draped around her. Emily laughed to herself as she began to wonder what kind of person would own a red leather jacket. _The kind of person that would rescue someone from the woods in the middle of the night._ Emily flipped the jacket inside-out hoping to find some pockets on the inside. She noticed the tag, _made from vegan leather_. She smiled. _Ah, so my rescuer also cares about animals. _Emily frowned slightly when her search came up empty. Aside from being a daring, animal-lover, she knew nothing else about who was in the woods with her. She carefully hung the jacket on her bed post and started to get ready for school.

"Honey, Hanna is here," her mom called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Okay, Mom, be right down." Emily looked back toward the jacket debating on whether to wear it to school or not. If she wore it to school someone might recognize the jacket and could tell her who it belongs to. Selfishly, Emily decided to leave it. She wanted at least one more night with the only piece of the stranger that she had. She closed her door and carefully made her way downstairs.

Hanna was on her immediately, squeezing her in a hug so tight, Emily worried she might break a stitch. Pam reminded Hanna to go easy on her daughter, so Hanna eased her hug slightly. Just slightly. Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"Emily, what happened? Why were you out there," Hanna eagerly asked. Then Hanna dipped her head and whispered, "does this have anything to do with A?"

"I'll tell you on the way to school. We are already late," Emily replied. "Bye, Mom, I love you," she said before slipping out the door.

Once they were safely in the car Hanna continued her questions. "Seriously, was it A?"

"No, I was out there with Maya and I fell asleep. Next thing I knew, it was pitch black out and Maya was gone. She went home while I was sleeping."

Hanna gasped, "She left you out there?! That bitch!"

"Hanna, come on, she is not a bitch. She probably didn't think that I was going to sleep for that long."

"No. NO!" Hanna was pissed now. "You can't just leave your girlfriend in a field in the middle of the woods. When we get to school I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. Actually, I'm going to tell Spencer so she'll give her a piece of _her_ mind. Either way, Maya is getting a piece of someone's mind."

Emily laughed. "How about I just talk to her?"

"Because, Emilyyyy," Hanna dragged her name out longer than necessary, "you never actually end up talking to her. She just smiles and pushes her boobs against you and suddenly you forget that ever had a backbone. You let her walk all over you all the time, Em, and it has to stop. If you won't stick up for yourself then we will...stand behind Spencer while she does it."

Emily laughed and rolled her eyes at how ridiculous Hanna was being. Her friend was all bark with very little bite. It was Spencer's job to bite. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that Hanna was right. Emily had always bent over backwards for Maya and all she expected in return was love. Sometimes Maya would even withhold that from her. Maya could be the most amazing, loving girlfriend, at times, but sometimes she would pull away from Emily. She would spend time with other girls openly and refuse to call Emily for days. When Emily would confront her about it, Maya would twist Emily's words around until Emily began to feel like she was the one that had done something wrong. She would then spend the next few days apologizing to Maya and trying to make it up to her.

"Earth to Em. Ground control to Major Emily," Hanna teased, pulling Emily out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? What, I'm sorry. What did you say?" Emily was embarrassed that she had been so lost in thought.

"I asked how you got out of the woods," Hanna repeated.

Emily grinned as she started to tell Hanna the story about the stranger with the leather jacket. How she smelled chlorine on the skin of the mystery woman. Emily felt butterflies in her stomach when she told Hannah about how warm and strong the stranger's arms were. How the stranger whispered in Emily's ear that she had her. How the girl effortlessly supported Emily's weight as they walked out of the woods.

"Okay stop, now you are making me hot," Hanna voiced while fanning herself.

Emily laughed and agreed that she was definitely feeling a little warm herself thinking about it again.

"Well, what's her name? What does she look like? Is she single," Hanna asked with a silly grin.

"DIBS," Emily shouted while raising her hand, both of them laughing. "It was dark so I couldn't see her face," she continued, "and she left before I could ask her for her name. The only thing I have of hers is the jacket she wrapped around me."

"Where is the jacket? Maybe we could use it to find out who owns it?"

Emily looked down, embarrassed.

"You're keeping her jacket?" Hanna playfully shoved Emily's arm.

"No, I'm not _keeping _it. I just thought I would hang on to it for a while so I could..."

"Sleep next to it," Hanna interrupted.

"NO! Just...I don't know. I just am not ready to give it up yet," Emily said sheepishly.

Hanna understood. She was always holding on to things that belonged to Caleb, not wanting to give them back. His shirt, his beanie, his hand. She knew perfectly well where Emily was coming from.

When they arrived at school Spencer and Aria were already waiting by Emily's locker. Before they could ask and before Emily could explain, Hanna blurted out everything that Emily told her. She was taking some liberties with the story though.

"Uh, Hanna, the girl didn't carry me out of the woods, I walked," Emily corrected. "HANNA! Maya did not poison me and leave me out there to die."

The girls listened to Hanna intently. Spencer scowling on occasion and looking around for Maya. _Maya_...Emily remember that she never texted her back this morning. She slipped away to text Maya when someone accidentally ran into her. She felt a strong body slam against her arm, knocking her phone out of her hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, excuse..." Emily started to say.

"Watch it," was all the girl said as she disappeared into the crowd of people.

"Rude much," Hanna called out. "Does anyone know her?"

Spencer and Aria looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"She must be new," Spencer said.

"Spencer, go teach her a lesson," Hanna demanded.

"How many battles would you like me to fight today, Hanna," Spencer asked with a smirk.

"Only as many as it take until our little Emmy is safe," Hanna grinned and hugged Emily who was standing there, still in shock.

Emily touched her own arm. _Chlorine _she wondered. _No, I'm imagining things. Besides why would a girl that was so nice to me yesterday be a complete jerk today? I guess it's possible, Maya does it all the time._

Aria gathered up the pieces of Emily phone. Emily tried to put it back together, but it was dead. She sighed and thought that her conversation with Maya would just have to wait until lunch time. The bell rang and the girls headed off to the respective classes.

**Lunch time:**

The girls all sat at their usually table, chatting. Actually, it was mostly Hanna talking about Caleb while the girls listened, but no one seemed to mind. Hanna was always so animated and romantic when she talked about Caleb that it entertained them. Spencer's eyes narrowed and fixed on something behind Emily. "What," Emily asked, but before she had a chance to turn around and look, small, cold hands covered her eyes. Emily winced when the hand hit her cut.

"Guess who," Maya said trying to be cute.

"Umm, my long lost girlfriend." Emily was not amused.

The girls all stared at Maya as she shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, I'm here now. What happened to your eye?"

"Oh _hellll_ no," Hanna yelled as she shot up from the table. Spencer grabbed her hand before she could reach Maya and pulled her back down.

"Let's go somewhere to talk," Emily said as she pulled Maya away from the table.

Emily walked with Maya to the bleachers by the track. She tried to steel her will so that she could have an honest talk with Maya. She wan't sure what she wanted though. Did she want to break-up? Did she just want an apology from Maya? Either way, she admitted to herself that her relationship with Maya needed to change if it was going to continue.

"Maya," Emily started, "what happened? Why did you leave me alone in the woods?"

"I told you, Sweets, I didn't want to wake you because you looked so peaceful. How was I supposed to know you were going to sleep for as long as you did." Maya was already sounding defensive.

Emily knew that this conversation was going to get flipped on her quickly. "Still you shouldn't have left me out there. What if something would have happened to me?"

Maya laughed. "It's Rosewood, what could have possibly happened to you?"

"Oh I don't know...are you forgetting about Alison?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Alison was a bitch and had it coming," she responded.

"How can you say that? No one deserves to die like that."

"Oh come on, Emily, you're too soft," Maya said with a smirk knowing that she was gaining the upper hand. "Come on, Babe, nothing happened to you. You are worried about nothing and hassling me when we should be kissing. Let's just kiss and make-up. You know I love you."

Both girls whipped their heads around when they heard a booming laugh coming from behind them.

"What is your problem," Maya scowled.

The amused girl turned to Emily. "You're not really buying this load of bullshit are you? I mean, what is she, a fertilizer salesman?" The girl laughed to herself, clearly proud of her joke. "She left you out in the woods, all by yourself, to fend for yourself, and now she is trying to get you to forget all about it. Seems like you have found yourself a good woman. I would hold onto her and never let go." The sarcasm in her voice could not be missed.

"Excuse me, you..." Maya started to speak, but was cut off before she could finish.

"No, you excuse _me_, Bullshitter. I'm out here minding my own business, enjoying my day. When I'm interrupted by two teenage lovers and the most pathetic display of manipulation I've ever seen. How can you just sit there and try to brush off how she is feeling," the girls eyes where burning as she addressed Maya. "And you," she said turning to Emily, her eyes softening just a bit.

"Me," Emily asked, "what did I do?"

"You're pathetic. You're just going to let her walk all over you like that. Have some self-respect. She doesn't deserve to be let off that easily. Make her work for you or make her pack her bags. Now if you excuse me, I've had all the teenage angst I can stand for one day." With that the girl walked off back towards the school building.

"Can you believe that girl," Maya scoffed.

"Yeah, I can actually," Emily said, turning to Maya. "Maya, I'm done with you." Before Maya could protest, Emily got up and followed the path the girl made, backbone intact. _Those eyes _Emily thought. They were burned into her mind now.


	3. Chapter 3

you can't change her

3

Emily hurried her pace, fuming over what had just happen. Her mind was racing. _Who does that girl think she is? I'm not pathetic. She's pathetic, hiding under the bleachers like a troll._ When she reached the main building she searched around for the girl, but realized she didn't really know what she looked like except for her eyes. The rest of her face had been blocked by the bleacher seats. _Her eyes_... Emily thought and all of her anger dissipated. Her eyes were a burning, golden brown color and hypnotizing. Once Emily had locked eyes with her, Emily couldn't look away. She felt powerless, trapped there by the passion and raw emotion. The emotions overwhelmed Emily. Emily left a familiar wobble in her legs and her mind began to swirl. She had always heard that the eyes were the window to someone's soul, but she never fully understood that saying until now. The mystery girl's eyes had set Emily's mind on fire. Her legs failed her as Emily dropped towards the floor. Strong arms holding her up just before she made contact. _Chlorine_. Emily felt herself being placed gently on a bench. Looking up with blurred vision she saw fire and..._concern_? Questioning what she saw and needing a better look, Emily vigorously rubbed her hands over her eyes. When she opening them again, the fire was gone.

"Oh my God, Emily are you okay?" Hanna rushed to Emily's side. She softly shook Emily's shoulder until Emily woke up.

"Huh...I'm fine I think," Emily sat up slowly. Pinching the bridge of her nose and slamming her eyes shut. "I was saved by fire."

"Ooookay...Emily I think we need to get you home."

"Whatever, you say Hanna Banana," Emily lightly laughed at her little rhyme. "You have such pretty hair."

"Well, she seems fine to me," Hanna said. "Let's keep her like this forever."

"Thank you Dr. Marin," Spencer quipped.

Emily was feeling better by the time they reached her house. Still, Hanna and Spencer insisted they stay with her until her mom came home. Hanna had asked if she could see the red leather jacket, so Emily took them upstairs. When Emily opened the door to the bedroom her faced dropped.

"The jacket is gone." Emily began to searching around her room hoping her mom had moved it.

"Are you sure," Spencer asked.

"Yes, it was hanging from my bed post when I left for school." Emily kept searching.

Spencer tried to calm Emily down. "Emily, relax, maybe your mom moved it. Or maybe whoever owns it came by while you were gone and claimed it. Just get in bed, you're hurt. We'll ask your mom about it when she gets here."

Emily stopped searching and crawled into bed. She was didn't realize how sleepy she was until her head hit her pillow.

"Did you talk to Maya," Hanna asked while handing Emily water and Tylenol.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys. I broke up with Maya." Emily looked at their shocked faces and laughed. "Come on, you know that you guys wanted me too. She wouldn't even apologize for leaving me alone in the field. She just tried to manipulated me and make me feel like I had done something wrong. I almost went along with it too until..." Emily's voice trailed off. She was suddenly unsure if she wanted to tell her friends about the girl under the bleachers.

"Until what?" Hanna was eagerly waiting for Emily's reply.

"Oh...until I remembered what you said, Han, about me sticking up for myself."

Hanna squealed, delighted that her friends were beginning to see that she is always right.

"Emmy, are you home? Girls?" Emily's mom was calling them from downstairs.

"Up here, Mom."

"Hi girls. Hi Sweetie," Mrs. Fields wrapped her in a tight hug that rivaled Hanna's from earlier. "Did you get a little carried away with your school work?"

Emily laughed. "Not exactly. I broke up with Maya and I think the stress of the situation was just a little too much for me today."

Emily noticed that her mom was doing a terrible job of hiding the fact she was happy to hear Emily had ended things with Maya. The corners of Pam's mouth curled slightly into the beginning of a smile.

"Nice face, Mom," Emily teased.

"I'm sorry, Honey. You know that I never cared for her and I think you did the right thing."

Emily glanced around at the girls. Hanna widened her eyes and mouthed "ask her," to Emily.

"Oh, Mom, do you know what happened to the jacket that was on my bedpost when I left. It was red and leather. I was wearing it last night. I meant to return it to it's owner, but forgot it when I left for school."

"No," Mrs. Fields replied, "I left shortly after you did."

"Okay, thanks Mom. I must have put it somewhere else." Emily started to panic. Jackets don't just leave on their own accord. Suddenly it hit her, _red leather...A_. Had it been A in the woods with her that whole time? Making sure that she got home safely so that she could continue the sick little game that she was playing with the four of them. With wide, panicked eyes to glanced around to Hanna then to Spencer and back to Hanna. A had never been this close to them before and Emily didn't know what to expect. With the stunts that A pulled, though, it was reasonable to believe that A would be strong as the stranger was.

"Mom, will you please make us some popcorn? Pretty please? I'm so injured I couldn't possibly do it myself," Emily said trying to get her mom out of her room.

"Sure Sweetie," Mrs. Fields said while stepping out of Emily's room.

"Way to milk it, Em, I couldn't be more proud of you," Hanna beamed.

"Shut up, Han. You guys I think the girl in the woods with me was A."

"Why do you think that," Spencer asked.

"Think about it, who else would be out there at that time unless someone had been watching me. The red leather jacket that has just vanished. Red coat. Maybe this girl wears leather because she is the queen of the A team, I don't know. She just disappeared before I had a chance to thank her and got really quiet when I asked her personal questions. She probably broke into my house to get the jacket before I could get any clues from it. You guys A was there with me. I was alone with her! Depending on her!" Emily's emotions got the better of her as she began to cry.

Spencer rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. "Emily, you don't know that it was A. Maybe Aria's brother broke into your house again and stole the jacket."

"Spencer, why would Aria's brother steal a woman's jacket. Be real," Hanna said.

"I don't know, _Hanna_, maybe he has a motorcycle riding girlfriend he wants to give the jacket to," Spencer darted her eyes toward Emily indicating that Hanna needs to keep quiet for Emily's sake.

"Oh you know what, I did hear something about his hot biker mama," Hanna shrugged. Spencer cringed and rolled her eyes.

"You guys are terrible liars," Emily said as her tears turned into light laughter.

"Knock, knock. Popcorn is done," Mrs. Fields was back. Popcorn in one hand and Emily's favorite movie, Rudy, in the other. "Girls you can stay for the movie, but I think Emily needs as much rest as she can get tonight."

"Yes, Mrs. Fields," Spencer and Hanna said in unison.

The girls all curled up on Emily's bed together before realizing that one of them would need to put the movie in. Both girls look at Spencer.

"Spencer please, I'm so hurt that I can barely move," Emily pleaded.

"Ugh fine. You guys better hope nothing ever happens to me because you both have some serious payback coming your way," Spencer warned.

Less than ten minutes into the movie all three of them were fast asleep. So much for leaving after the movie was over.

* * *

**Paige**

"Hey Paigey Wagey, nice jacket. Red leather, very rebel without a clue. Where did you get it?"

Adam loves to give me a hard time. I do my best to ignore him, but he is everywhere sometimes. It doesn't help that he a my legal guardian, he has too much say in my life. He is blocking my path now. I can tell he is an especially annoying mood today.

"I stole it. Move, please," I ask through gritted teeth, but politely enough.

"No, Paigey Wagey, I feel like we haven't bonded in awhile. I miss my sister."

"Half-sister," I quickly correct him.

We had the same father, but my mother did not hesitate to adopt Adam after my father's indiscretions were discovered. Our parents were gone and now I am stuck with him. He took our parents death a lot harder than I did. He turned to drinking and drugs to numb the pain. Despite that, the courts still consider him the adult. When he turned 21 we were able to move back into our parent's house in Rosewood. He turned the house into a frat house. Spray paint covers the once clean walls. Most of the furniture has been busted. Tin foil covers the windows. Whiskey bottles are strewn about the house. Family picture are piled in the the corner. He swears he is going to burn the whole house down some day, using the pictures as kindling. The only place he seems to respect is the pool, which I am thankful for as it is my escape from the madhouse. Adam used to be an amazing swimmer. He holds several records at Rosewood High that he set during his sophomore year, before our worlds collapsed. No one seems to remember that anymore, though, they just see a burnout; including me. I no longer see the brother that taught me how to swim. That worked with me for hours until my stroke had been perfected. The brother that would sneak ice cream to me after our overbearing parents told us no. I just see another loser that refuses to stop feeling sorry for himself and thinks the world owes him something.

"Half-sister whatever," he is angry now. "You love reminding me how I didn't belong in your perfect little family." He grabs my arm when I try to push pass him.

"Adam, let go, you don't want another incident like what happened last week to happen again," I remind him, pointing to the now yellow bruise around his eye.

"That was a cheap shot," he says while curling his fingers up into a fist.

"Everything is a cheap shot because you are always drunk," I reply. "Now seriously, let go of my arm." I shove him as hard as I can and he crashes into the wall. Before he has a chance to get up, I grab a headlamp and head for the door. I can hear him laughing. This is a joke to him. Everything is a joke to him.

"Paigey Wagey, come back! I thought we were going to bond. You BITCH!"

I hear him smashing more holes in the wall as I turn towards the forest and start to run.

* * *

AN: As some of you (Snoosha) know I was planning on rewriting this fic completely. Then decided against that (Snoosha). I thought, though, that I would go through and make changes to each chapter. Nothing huge, but just to fix a few things that make me cringe (and there are plenty). I decided against that too. This is the first thing - aside from essays - that I wrote. It's fun, in my opinion, to look back at where I started and have a couple laughs at the more...unpolished chapters. So it stays as is.

In other news I finally got a Beta reader. Yay! Also, I fell asleep four times while trying to write this AN. Good night. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **If I may indulge myself in some self-indulgence, I would like to dedicate this story to Snoosha01. Without you, Sweet-T, I would have quit writing and become a scuba instructor. And you know why that would have been a bad idea! Hahaha fish.

* * *

she can't be changed by you

4

* * *

**Emily**

I woke up before my alarm sounded, with Hanna hugging my side and Spencer's arm draped over my neck. They didn't leave my side the whole night; my heart swelled a little when I realized they were still wearing their clothes from the day before. There was no denying that my friends are the most wonderful people in the world. Hanna began to stir and I couldn't resist playing a little prank on her while she was still half asleep.

"Oh my God, Hanna your _hair_! What happened?!" I covered my mouth, attempting to look shocked. It also helped to hide my impending laughter.

Hanna's eyes shot open as she grabbed for her hair. "What? WHAT?!" She asked in a panicked tone. "Tell me what's wrong. Is it gum? Did I get gum in my hair? I wasn't even chewing gum. Did someone put gum in my hair? Please tell me!" Hanna patted her hair with her hands quickly. Moving around, desperately searching for an imaginary wad of gum.

By now Spencer was awake and she quickly caught on to the game. "Hanna, it's on the other side," Spencer said, trying to contain her laughter as Hanna moved her hand to the other side of her head. "No, other side," Spencer continued. "Back a little more. Get under your hair. Okay, now push it up. Both sides. Good. Now pout for us." The game was up; Spencer couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. She and I fell over each other, laughing, while Hanna glared at us.

"You guys are jerks," Hanna muttered. She turned her back to us, but her little body movements gave her away, she was laughing too.

"Oh come on, Han, you looked like a model," Spencer joked.

That was all Hannah needed to hear. She quickly turned around a gave us both a huge hug. Before warning us that we better sleep with one eye open tonight.

"Girls?"

"Hi mom," I called back to my mother who was gently knocking on the door. "Mom, we are _so_ sorry. We feel asleep watching the movie and..." I began to explain hoping she wouldn't be mad. She smiled and told me that it was okay. She contacted Spencer and Hanna's parents last night to let them know why they wouldn't be home.

"But, you guys still have to go to school."

"Okay..." we groaned.

The day was going by quickly. I could tell that Spencer and Hanna were treading lightly around me, not wanting to mention A. They often treated me like I was a porcelain doll. I never understood why, but sometimes I was extremely thankful. I really enjoyed easy days like this. The days were we just talked about relationship and what movie we should go see this weekend. These seemingly insignificant moments, have become the most cherished moments of my life now. Aria was jealous that she was not included in our impromptu sleepover so we all made plans for Saturday. The bell rang and Aria began to grin from ear to ear.

"Time for English," Aria was practically floating away. "Come on, Em, we don't want to be late."

I took my seat near the back of class, laughing at Aria over the dreamy look she gave Mr. Fitz as we walked in. I knew that it hurt Aria that they couldn't be public with their relationship. In a way, I wasn't the only one that came out of the closet to my friends. We all had our secrets, Aria was with our teacher, Hanna loved the guy that was hiding in her basement, and Spencer was with a man that everyone thought was a killer. None of our relationships have been easy. We all needed support from each other in our own ways. Aria definitely has it the worst, though, Ezra is risking everything to be with her.

I looked up just in time to watch her walk through the door. _It's the girl from the bleachers. _I couldn't help but to take her all in. Finally appreciating just how hot she is now that I am seeing her in full view. Her white v-neck fit her so right; showing off her flat stomach and toned arms. A glint of silver caught my eye as I was following the neckline of her shirt down. It was a long silver chain that disappeared into her shirt, hiding what I assumed was a charm. Tight blue jeans hugged her long, strong legs. Her boots were untied a little so they fell open a towards the top. Her auburn hair was in loose waves, stopping just above the middle of back. Stray pieces of hair kept falling into her eyes and she had to keep pushing them back. This gave her hair that sexy just-rolled-out-of-bed look. _Bed head_. I bit my lip at the thought of her in bed. _In my bed_. I knew that I needed to get a grip. I was obviously staring. I looked away for a moment; only to look right back at her, not wanting to miss anything. Her shirt was being pushed up slightly by her bag, exposing some skin near her hip and a..._tattoo_? That was definitely a tattoo. _I'm going to lose my mind. _I watched her talk to Mr. Fitz, not even registering what she was saying; just focusing on the way she moved her hands while she talked. Soon I could only think of her hand. I shook my head, trying desperately to focus on something else. She was standing like she owned the room. So confident. Like this was her space and we were all just visitors. Leave it up to Aria to free me from my trance.

"Emily, you dropped your jaw," Aria teased. "Do you need help picking it up? Seriously, Em, you are going to scare her off before you even have a chance to talk to her."

We both started to laugh. I guess I deserved that, after all I did just tease her about Ezra. I glanced back towards the girl at the front of the classroom, finding her eyes. I looked away again, embarrassed that I got caught looking. A jolt went through my body as my stomach flipped. Looking up, we locked eyes again. There was that intensity, with a hint of heaviness; my own eyes started to burn.

* * *

**Paige**

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Fitz?" I was standing in front of a guy that looked like he graduated high school yesterday, but since he was wearing a vest I assumed he was the teacher. "I'm Paige McCullers, I just transferred to this class."

"Paige, yes hi. Umm..." He thumbed through the papers on his desk until he found his roll sheet. "Paige McCullers, there you are. Go ahead and find a seat."

My gaze moved towards the back of the classroom. This has to be a joke. The only seat available was behind the one person in school that I was actively trying to avoid and she was staring at me. I'm beginning to feel like the more I try to avoid her, the more I see her. I couldn't escape her.

"There is a seat behind Emily," Mr. Fitz said because he is so damn helpful. He looked away and I seized the opportunity to roll my eyes at him. I had to think of a way out of this.

"Actually, Mr. Fitz, I need to sit in the front. I can't see the board very well when I'm in the back." _Good lie_.

"Hmm," he said scratching is chin. "Why don't you sit back there for now. I don't use the board a lot in class anyway. We'll figure something out if you later if you can't see."

"Thanks." I mumbled. I started to walk back to my new personal hell. I felt like a scoundrel walking the plank. Eventually, I was going to fall over the edge just to be overwhelmed by the ocean that is Emily's beauty. I was a strong swimmer, but I knew that I was no match for Emily's current. She would just keep pulling me further and further into her. Away from the safety of my self-loathing.

I took my seat without looking at her. _So far, so good._ Keeping my eyes down, I stared into my bag, pretending to look for my book. It was right on top, but I knew that she was looking at me. I was standing on the very end of my plank now, teetering back and forth between Emily and safety. Part of me wanted to cannonball into her. Forget about all the bad in me and my life and let her wash over me, but I couldn't. I was desperately holding on to the safety of my ship.

"Hi." _Her voice_, "I'm Emily." Her voice was different now, happy. It occurred to me that this was the first time I was hearing her happy. I had heard her terrified in the wood, confused, sad over Maya, defeated, but not happy. Happiness suited her really well. I knew that she was smiling, I could hear it in her voice. I fought back the urge to look at her, to smile back. If I smiled back, she would get the wrong idea. She might think I was someone she could rely on.

I was losing my balance now, my toes were hanging off the edge of my plank. I decided to make one final lunge back to safety.

"I don't really care." My voice was so cold that it surprised me. I didn't even bother to look at her. _I'm sorry, but this is for your own good. _She looked me over for a second before turning around in her chair. I finally exhaled.

She didn't say another word to me after that. It was what I wanted and I hated it.

As soon as the bell rang, I jetted towards the door. I need to be as far away from her as possible again. _I heard the North Pole is lovely this time of year._

"Paige," Emily was calling my name. _NOOO!_

"WHAT," I snapped as I spun around on my heels. Emily was standing in front of me, holding my English book. I must have left it behind in my haste. There was the look of confusion on her face that I recognized from the forest. I hated that I was the cause of that look this time.

"Your book," she said as she extended the book out towards me.

Just as I was about to grab it she pulled it away from me. _God she is cute. No, Emily please. I can't do this with you. _My thoughts were not helping me calm my nerves.

"First, you have to tell me why are you are treating me like this?" Her voice was stern. I knew I wasn't going to be able to avoid this conversation. "I haven't done anything to deserve this."

I was growing anxious, panicky. She was wasting her breath and time on me. I knew I had to do something to get away from this situation. I stepped closer to Emily, until I was standing just inches away from her. The realization that chest began to rise and fall faster when I closed the distance softened me a bit.

"I'm sorry, that I was rude." I meant that. "Do you really want to know why I acted that way?" She nodded her head. I leaned in, so I was whispering in her ear now, "Okay, but you can't tell anyone. The truth is, I'm having trouble resisting you." I meant that too. When I heard her breath catch, I slammed my eyes shut. This was not right, I was toying with her; still, I willed myself to continue. It would be easier for both of us if she hated me. Hurting her a little on purpose today meant I wouldn't end up hurting her a lot on accident later.

"I just can't..." before I could finish my sentence I felt her warm hand squeeze my forearm. Her thumb was tracing small circles on my skin. My body began to move on its own. Finally, my heart was taking over, it was breaking from the walls I built around it so long ago. It was only then that I realized I had slid my hand around her waist and was pulling her into me. My heart felt like it was beating for the first time since my parents died. It had life. I could feel it hammering at the walls around it, trying to break them down once and for all. I stood up straight to see her face. _Happiness_. She was happy because of me. I could kiss her right now. Pour my heart and soul into her through a soft kiss. She could be mine. She _should _be mine. I don't know if I am capable of loving someone, but I imagine that if I could it would be Emily who I loved. I could let her in. As I readied myself to release all the agony I had built up inside of me; the death of my parents, the condition of my brother, something stopped me. It was her hand. Her hand was on my chest.

She looked at me with an accepting look, like she knew the internal war I was waging with myself. "You can't what, Paige?"

"No," I pulled away from her. My traitorous heartbeat was going to give me away. It was going to rat me out; tell Emily all about what I was feeling for her. She couldn't know. I readied myself again, but this time it was to hurt her.

"I just can't stand you. Sorry, Princess, you can't win everyone over." My brain went to work quickly, rebuilding the wall around my heart. My chest ached with the heavy sorrow of locking my heart away again. I avoided looking at her face to preserve my memory of what her face looked like when she was happy. I didn't want to see what I had done. She threw my book at me, before turning to leave. My heart fought for life one more time as it tried to chase after her, but was quickly shoved back down. Sometimes I was thankful that I inherited my father's stubborn streak.

I didn't even attempt to block the book from hitting me. If hitting me was what Emily needed, then the least I could do was give her that.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **The files on my computer are in such a mess. I'm also a borderline, amateur photographer so I had to dig through file after file of photographs to find where YCCH was saved. Speaking of photographs, happy Friday! Those two are unrelated, I know...and I also don't care. Now if you'll excuse me I need to order some blu-rays from Amazon. Sweet-T this update is dedicated to your tattoo that you hate, but love, but hate. :)

* * *

it would take a miracle for her to be changed

5

**Paige**

I couldn't move from the spot where I had been holding Emily, dazed by that chance that I just wasted. My mind was spinning out of control. I decided that I needed to get out of there; I couldn't risk seeing her again. Racing back to my house, I hoped that Adam would not be there. I needed to get in the pool and swim until I forget about the world around me.

No such luck, Adam's car was in the driveway. When I walked into the house it seemed different somehow. Music filled the house, but it wasn't Adam's usual selection. It dawned on me, _Two Weeks_. Taima must be here, because there was no way Adam would play Grizzly Bear on his own. I made my way towards the backyard where I could hear laughing. It _was_ Taima!

Taima was the only friend that has remained loyal to me throughout the years. We met after my parents died, when my brother and I moved to Philadelphia to live with our aunt. Taima lived next door with her family. We became best-friends when I stood-up to a bully that was messing with her. As much as I was against the idea of having a best-friend, she persisted. She was also the only friend that could stand my brother. I enjoyed watching them interact for a minute. It was nice seeing my brother so relax, he loved Taima as much as I did.

"Taima, what are you doing here," I called out to her. "If your parents find out you are still socializing with big, bad Paige McCullers they'll lock you away forever."

"I don't care. Let them lock me away. You are the platonic love of my life and nothing is going to keep us apart," Taima placed the back of her hand on her forehead for dramatic effect before running up to me to give me a hug.

Taima's parents used to love me, until the day that they found pot in Taima's backpack. They confronted Taima about it in front of me and I quickly took the fall for her. I told her parents that I put the drugs in Taima's bag without her knowing because the principal was going to check my locker. They told us we cannot be friends anymore. Taima wanted to tell her parents the truth, but I told her not to. I could handle them being mad at me, but they were already hard enough on her. She needed any little break she could get.

"You're so dramatic," I laughed. "Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I thought you might need me. It's been one week since you moved back to Rosewood and I was worried about you. Judging by the look on your face, I'm right."

Taima always had this amazing, and annoying, ability to tell when something was wrong with me. And like the good friend she is, she would not stop until I told her what was wrong.

I looked at her and smirked. "Did you bring your fake ID?"

"I never leave home without it," she replied.

A big grin spread across my face. I grabbed her hand, my red jacket, and pulled her out the door. I'll tell her about everything that happened this week, but I needed a little liquid medicine first.

* * *

**Emily**

Usually, my body was graceful in the water, but not today. I was angry and was swimming like I was trying to fight the water instead of working with it. It wasn't helping, my rage was boiling up inside of me. _How could she do that_? I flipped and kicked off the wall like I was trying to put a hole in it. I wanted to do some damage. I wanted to do some damage to Paige's face. I was swimming harder and harder. My anger was spilling over at this point. I had completely lost sight of what I was doing until I swam right into the wall. _Okay, maybe it's time to get out of the pool._

When I got back to the locker rooms, I had a text from Aria:

**Hi, I think we could all use a girls' night. Brew at 8? -Aria**

I could feel my body releasing some of the anger right away.

**Yes! You have no idea how perfect that sounds. See you then. -Emily**

* * *

**Paige**

Taima and I searched until we found the only dive bar in town. It also happened to be the only gay bar in town. _This should be interesting. _It was actually pretty perfect. It was dark with a decent sized dance floor. There was a good mix of music too. We grabbed a seat near the back of the bar. Not one for wasting time, I quickly ordered the first round of drinks; for Taima a beer, Jack and Coke for me. I _really_ don't like to waste time.

"Okay, so tell me what is bothering you." Apparently, Taima didn't like to waste time either.

"What? Right now? I just got my drink. I'm not ready to be honest yet," I stalled, but I knew it didn't buy me a lot of time.

I tried to turn the conversation back on Taima and the green-eyed boy she was hopelessly in love with. It seemed to work for a moment. She animately talked about his smile for 10 minutes. Ten full minutes. By the time she was finished I was on my second drink.

"Spill, McCullers."

"We should dance first." I tried to stall for just a little longer.

"Paige, no!." She was getting impatient now. "Tell me please. You know I hate it when you keep things bottled up. Is it your brother?"

I shook my head.

"Okay, is it school?"

I shook my head again.

"Is it a _girl_?" She raised an eyebrow when she asked.

I couldn't stop the smile from appearing. I dropped my head trying to hide how much I was smiling, but it was no use. I was caught.

"Paige. A girl! This is wonderful. Tell me everything about her." She leaned towards me resting her chin on her hands. I had her full, undivided attention. _Great._

I started from the beginning. How I saw Emily in the woods and I wanted to ignore her, but I couldn't. "...someone had just left this beautiful girl out here all by herself. She was so scared and alone, I had to help her." I told her about how I startled Emily at first and she ran from me. "...she was running in the right direction so I just let her go knowing that she was almost out of the woods, until she tripped." Taima was completely enthralled at this point. "...I was surprised by how beautiful she was even with the all the dirt, blood, and tears on her face. I felt this overwhelming desire to make sure she never cries again." _Wow, this much honesty and it's only my second drink. _I explained to her how I just left as soon as she was safe with her mom. "...I knew that the idea of me in that moment was better than anything I was going to be able give her."

"Hi. Care to dance?" I looked up to see a tall blonde standing by our table.

"No thanks," I said as I turned my attention back to Taima. Taima raised both of her eyebrows at me. I paid it no mind and continued with my story. "...then she interrupted my lunch. She was going to forgive the girl that just left her out there. I was jealous that she cared about the girl enough to forgive her." _Okay, I'm going to need another drink. _"...I just knew that she could do better than that girl. I would never leave her out in the woods like that. And if I had I would be begging..." I was interrupted by a girl offering to buy me a drink.

"No, thank you," I responded, annoyed about being interrupted.

"Okay, where was I," I asked Taima.

"You were telling me about how much you love Emily." That made me choke on my drink.

"I never said I loved her." My tone was probably a little too defensive. I decided to start taking shots. It was like a private drinking game, every time I thought of Emily, I would take a shot. This should do the trick. "...I had a chance though, but I blew it. I hurt Emily..." _shot_, "on purpose. She can't fall for me, Taima, and I can't let myself fall for her. I don't want to hurt her."

Taima was looking at me in disbelief. I started to prepare for the "Paige is an idiot" speech.

"Then I broke into her bedroom and took my jacket back," I said as quietly as possible, hoping she wouldn't register what I just said.

"Paige!" _No such luck_. "You can't just break into her house. That's creepy and illegal...and creepy."

"It was just the one time," I said, trying to defend myself. "Besides it's not like I watch her swim practices."

The look of disapproval was hilarious. "Paige, are you stalking this girl?"

I laughed. "No, I just thought about trying out for the team. I wanted to scope it out and she just happened to be there."

"Are you really thinking about joining the team? Wait, there is no time to talk about that, we are talking about Emily. Paige, listen to me right now because I'm going to give you some great advice. And you know I'm always right."

"And modest," I interrupted.

She rolled her eyes. "I am modest. It's one of the many things I do well."

Now it was my turn to roll my eye.

"Paige, you need to let go. Let go of everything that you are holding onto. It's time for you to allow yourself to live again. Letting go doesn't mean you are forgetting your parents. You clearly have strong feelings for this girl. I can see it when you talk about her. Your eyes get brighter; you almost look happy. You have ignored every girl in this place tonight, when normally by now you would have snuck off to 'talk' to one of them. It's okay to try to let Emily in. Getting hurt is part of life. Life is full of bumps and bruises, but the good moments make you forget all about them. You've already had more than your fair share of bumps. Let Emily bring some good in your life."

I couldn't tell if it was just the alcohol, but I knew Taima was right. I pulled out my phone to text Emily before Taima snatched the phone out of my hand.

"A drunk text is probably not the best way to woo a girl." Taima was always the voice of reason.

"That's okay, I don't have her phone number anyway. I was hoping it would magically appear in my phone." I laughed at myself, then I couldn't stop laughing. _Drunk giggles. Uh-oh._

"Okay, Champ, let's get you out of here and to a place with a little less alcohol." Taima was helping me up now.

"The Brew has coffee," I smiled at how helpful I was being.

* * *

**Emily**

"So Emily, what happened with that hottie from English class," Aria asked.

I hadn't told any of my friends what Paige had done. It would just create drama and after everything that happened with Maya, I just wanted to forget about it.

"Oh, nothing I was too shy to talk to her." I was hoping she would drop the subject. Paige McCullers was the last thing I wanted to talk about tonight. We had already been at The Brew for a couple hours, just talking. Enjoying easy moments again. My anger from earlier was gone and I just wanted to move passed everything that happened.

"Wait, how hot is this girl," Hanna asked. "I mean, Em, if you were too shy to talk to her she must be a stunner."

"She's beautiful." Aria answered for me.

"Who is she," Spencer hated having to play catch-up.

"She is a new girl in our English class. Emily was staring at her, unabashedly," Aria said. "I think I even saw a little drool."

"Oh you did not Aria," I pretended to be offended. "There was no drool guys. She is just beautiful. Can we change the subject though?"

"Can't handle the heat, Em?" Hanna teased.

"Emily, you should ask her to homecoming," Spencer suggested.

"Yeah, then all the couples could go out together, like a big group date before the dance," Hanna said excitedly.

I was supposed to go to homecoming with Maya, but when my friends found out we broke-up, they canceled their pre-homecoming plans with their boyfriends. We decided that the four of us would go out to dinner and meet the guys at the dance later. I felt guilty, but was touched by the gesture.

"Don't worry, I'll find someone to go with and we can all go on our big date," I assured Hanna.

"Emily, don't worry. The four of us can go out. It's not a big deal. Right Hanna?" Spencer glared at Hanna

"Oh right. It's not big deal." I could tell Hanna was lying, but I loved her for it.

We continued to talk about homecoming and dresses. I tried to pay attention, but my thoughts focused on Paige again. As much as I didn't want to, I couldn't help but think about how well her body fit together with mine. Sometime I could still feel the sensation of her against my body like she was pulling us together at that very moment. I thought about her throaty voice in my ear. _"I'm having trouble resisting you." _I kept thinking about her words. I wish I could tell what part of what she had said was true and which part was a lie. Never mind, she hurt me, and that's all that mattered.

"Red, leather jacket," Hanna squealed. I looked up to see that her eyes were wide now and she was staring at the door.

I didn't want to turn around; not knowing what to expect. I had this image in my head of this perfect person that was there for me. A stranger that made me feel so safe and warm. What if she was unavailable? What if it was the wrong jacket? Hanna kick me under the table. When I looked up at her she widened her eyes at me again and indicated in the direction of the door. I braced my and turned out. I felt like a kid on Christmas.

_Heartbreak._

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I couldn't contain myself.

* * *

**Paige**

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I heard a familiar voice say.

I quickly scanned the room. As soon as I saw her, my face dropped. Emily was standing with her arms crossed, glaring at me. The look on her face was like someone had told her that the tooth fairy is just her mom putting some spare change under her pillow. I knew she recognized my jacket. The perfect image she had of the girl in the woods was shattered. The only thing that was left standing was me. Never in my life have I felt more like I wasn't good enough for someone until that moment. Except, this time I wasn't good enough to live up to her idea of me. My drunk brain couldn't think of anything to say to make it better. Then it happened, drunk giggles. I couldn't hold back; I started to laugh. I knew it looked bad, but I couldn't stop. Taima was telling me to get a grip, but it was no use. I disappointed Emily again and now it looked like I was laughing about it.

* * *

**Emily**

"She's _really_ hot," Hanna was excited.

There she was. My hero. Of course, it was her, I should have seen it before. Paige was strong, smelled a little like chlorine, and loved disappointing me. _Is she laughing? _All of my anger returned. I walked up to Paige and shoved her before heading out the door. I didn't know what else to do. This girl was infuriating. The thing that bothered me the most was how hard I had to work to stay mad at her. Even through her laughter, her eyes told me that she was sorry. _Dammit why was she with me that night?_

As I walked farther away from The Brew I started to realize that I didn't want the stranger to be anyone, but Paige. Despite all that happened, I still felt safe with Paige, my stomach still did flips whenever I saw her. If I could pick the person that was out there with me that I night, I would have picked Paige. That didn't mean that I wasn't mad anymore, though.

I heard footsteps behind me, they were catching up. I assumed it was Spencer, until I found myself being pushed up against a wall. _Definitely not Spencer_. It was Paige; she was pinning me against the wall with her body. Before my brain had a chance to protest, my hands gripped the material of her jacket, pulling her into me violently. I smashed our lips together; grabbing her jaw with one hand. It was rough, but I didn't care; I needed rough right now. I was desperate to get my aggression out and was sure that she could handle it. She quickly took over the kiss, biting my lower lip, begging for permission. I parted my lips more and her tongue found mine in a hurry. I could taste the alcohol on her lips. It was wrong, I was taking advantage of her. I tried to come to my senses, but Paige had stripped all of them away from me with her intensity. I moaned into her mouth as the force of her kiss increased. I'll deal with the repercussions later; right now, this was the only thing I wanted.

One of her arms were wrapped around my waist; her hand gripping at my shirt, tightly. Her fingers on her other hand were in the waistband of my pants, pulling my hips into her. I began to feel dizzy. She left my lips and moved to my neck; she left a trail of soft bites down my neck. Sliding her leg between mine, she rolled her hips into me, pushing me harder into the wall. This was so much, but not enough. Her body felt even more amazing than before. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her closer to me. Feeling my legs start to wobble, I opened my eyes hoping to regain my balance. As my anger started to dissipate, Paige began to slow down; she was becoming more gentle.

"No...don't stop," I said trying to control my breathing. I was searching her face for some clues about what might be going through her head.

"Promise me..." She said looking down. She was fidgeting with her necklace. I realized that she had two rings on her chain; it looked like two wedding rings. She looked up at me again, her eyes were watering.

I felt like the worst person in the world. I knew what I did was wrong. She opened her mouth to speak again, but suddenly her friend pulled her away from me.

"Okay, Paige, I think it's time for you to get home," Her friend said forcing Paige into the car.

"Wait," Paige protested, "I was talking to Emily. I was going to tell her."

"Yeah yeah, I know how your 'talks' with girls end up," she said before closing the door on Paige.

I was so confused. _Tell me what _I wondered. I felt the need to explain myself.

"Hey, really sorry I took advantage of her, it was wrong of me to do that. I knew she was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing. Will you tell her I'm sorry," I explained to her friend.

Her friend laughed. "Emily right? Trust me Paige never does anything she doesn't want to do; even when she is sloppy drunk."

She got in her car and drove off with Paige; leaving me even more confused. I wish Paige was better at finishing her sentences. I touched my hand to my lips. I could still feel her kiss and the affect it had on my body. A smile crept onto my face, Paige _wanted _to kiss me.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Since I was asked, but next time I might require a "please". Sweet-T, I wish I had a sandwich, please.

* * *

if Jesus can't change her no one can

6

**Paige's POV**

"That was Emily," Taima seemed annoyed.

"The one and only." I sighed, staring blankly out the window. _She kissed me_. My lips still felt like little electrical currents were coursing through them.

"Paige, she is _gorgeous. _Seriously, poor Paige," She rolled her eyes. "It must be _terrible_ to be the object of that girl's affection. I could see how you'd be conflicted. Part of me wasn't sure if I wanted to stop you two or just enjoy the show. And I'll admit I did 'just enjoy the show' for longer than I probably should have. To top it all off she was apologizing to _me _for taking advantage of _you._" Taima laughed before continuing. "As if that was possible, someone taking advantage of you."

"Right!" I tried to raise my head to further emphasis my point, but it quickly crashed back down on the seat. "Emily, is so sweet, Taima. Like honey. Taima, take me to the nearest mountain top right now. I want to shout to the whole world about how Emily makes me feel." I grabbed Taima's face and kissed her on the cheek.

She pushes my face away, "okay Paige no more kissing for you tonight."

"I've never felt like this before; I feel light and warm. Everything is clear even though I an only see Emily. Can a heart whistle a happy tune? Because I'm pretty sure mine is right now. I'm crazy over her." I lay back in my seat, knowing that a goofy grin is covering my face, but I don't care.

"Okay, what was in that drink," Taima can't stop laughing. She can joke all she wants; I can tell she is happy for me.

"Emily was too sweet for Maya. That's why I had to get Emily away from Maya. She is mesmerizing. Everyone is hypnotized by her; even you." I jammed my finger against Taima's face so she was sure that I was talking about her.

"Okay, easy on the face, Paige. That's the money maker. Did you have to get Emily away from Maya because Maya wasn't good enough for her? Or was it because you wanted to take Maya's place?" Taima was asking the difficult questions now.

"Well that sounds sneaky and completely like something I would do." We both laughed. "I don't know, Taima. At first she was just this annoying damsel in distress, interrupting my midnight stroll through the woods. Next thing I know, I want to protect her from everything."

"Including you..." Taima added.

"Especially me." I started to consider everything that was happening. If I was finding it difficult to stay away from Emily before, it was going to be nearly impossible after that kiss. That brain melting kiss; I wanted it again already. "Taima, turn around! Take me back!"

"What? Why?" Taima was confused and not turning around fast enough.

"Taima, please, I have to talk to Emily right now while I have the courage. I want her. I want to try with her I mean. Please turn around." I was staring at Taima and she looked at me, surprised. Whatever she saw in my eyes got her to make an abrupt u-turn.

For the first time in my life I felt sure about something; I would never be able to keep myself from Emily. There was no point in trying anymore.

"What's your heart whistling?"

Her laughter fills the car. "Hands Down," I replied.

That earned an exaggerated eye roll from Taima.

* * *

**Emily's POV**

"Emily Fields, you brazen hussy." I blushed at Hanna's words. "I'm not proud to admit this, but I watched the whole thing. Seriously, could not take my eyes off of you two. What was that beside hot and kind of slutty?"

"Oh God, was it really slutty? Paige just surprised me. I had no control over my body." I was so embarrassed. "Did Spence and Aria see too?" I asked the question even though I didn't really want to know that answer. I wanted to pretend that only Hanna saw and that she would actually be able to keep a secret.

"Oh we definitely saw," Spencer said while she was walking out of the Brew. "Was your plan to just have sex with her on the sidewalk, Em?"

I buried my face in my hands, but couldn't hide my smile. I knew I was in for a good amount of being made fun of tonight. Then a wave of confidence washed over me when I thought back to Paige's lips moving with mine. "You guys can tease me all you. That kiss was hot and you know it. Maybe instead of staring you should have taken notes. Now let's go home." All three of them were grinning at me from ear to ear. I grabbed my purse from the chair and gave Hanna a high-five as I walked by my friends.

"I've never been more proud of you than I am right now," Hanna called after me and we all laughed. I climbed into Hanna's car and we all made our way to Spencer's house.

* * *

**Paige's POV**

"Most people wait for the car to come to a complete stop before jumping out, Paige." Taima was getting cranky.

My eyes darted around, but the Brew was closed. Emily was nowhere in sight.

"We missed her," I said to Taima, deflated. Just a minute ago I was determine to tell her how I feel; ask her if I was someone she could see herself with. Now she was gone and I missed my chance.

"That's fine..." Taima paused to yawn, "Paige, just talk to her on Monday."

"Taima, Monday is three days away. I'm going to lose my courage by then."

"Just write a note on your hand, 'things to do: grow a pair, talk to Emily'." She chuckled to herself before yawning again. "For now, how about you get me in bed?"

I rolled my eyes and glanced around for Emily one more time, before relenting and getting back in the car.

* * *

**Emily's POV**

The girls had not stopped pestering me about Paige since we left the Brew. I was trying to keep the details to a minimum not waiting to admit what happened after English class. My friends were incredibly protective of me, especially Spencer. I knew if I got Paige off on the wrong foot with them it was going to take a long time for them to trust her.

"Did you guys come up for air long enough to make plans for an actual date," Spencer asked.

"No...but I'm sure I will see her at school." It made me sad to think I was going to have to wait that long to see her. She said that she was going to tell me something and I honestly think I was going to burst if I didn't find out what she wanted to say soon. Hanna suggested that I text her and ask her for coffee tomorrow when I realized that I didn't even have her number.

"Well, she lives near me. I see her sometimes working on her motorcycle," Aria said. "Maybe you could just dropped by tomorrow when you guys drop my off at my house."

"Paige, has a motorcycle," I asked. Of course she has a motorcycle. A motorcycle was the only vehicle that made sense for her.

"Okay, let's do it. I have to at least get her number, right? Are you guys sure it won't be weird if I just show up at her house," I asked.

They assured me it wouldn't be and that she was probably sad she didn't have my number too.

We all cuddled together in Spencer bed watching the movie. I barely lasted ten minuted before falling asleep, thinking about Paige. _Big mistake._

_I looked down the bed at Paige as she kissed her way up my legs. I knew what she was trying to do, but I was holding my ground. I was going to make her work tonight._

_"Emily, please, baby, open up for me." She lightly kissed my skin between words. Her auburn hair was tickling my bare legs, her strong hand was traveling up my calf._

_I shook my head. "You're going to have to try harder than that," I said._

_She grinned at me and I almost gave in. But quickly regained my composure and squeezed my legs together even tighter. That'll teach her to grin at me like that._

_"Em, are you really going to make me beg?"_

_I closed my eyes and nodded my head. Suddenly, I felt her move up the bed; then I felt her hot breath on my ear._

_"Baby, I'm not going to beg," she was talking in her low, raspy voice that made my head spin. "I'm just going to have to make you give in."_

_I shook my head again and bit my lip while I smiled. "Not going to happen."_

_Paige was kissing my neck, one of her hands was traveling from the front of my thigh to my hip bone and back down. Each time grazing the sensitive spot near my hips that makes my body jump. She nipped my ear before softly brushing her tongue over the spot where my neck meets my clavicle. I felt my hips jerk without my permission. She smiled into my neck. "Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to have you giving it up." With that she moved back down the bed. Running both of her hands on the outside of my legs, placing soft kisses on my thighs._

_"Emily, Emily! _Emily...EMILY!" Ugh it was Hanna.

"You better have a _damn_ good reason for waking me," My eyes widened at my unexpected tone.

"You were dry humping the bed and it was making us uncomfortable," Hanna said. I was shocked and desperately searching for a sign that she was kidding, but her face was so serious.

"Oh God, I was? I'm so sorry."

"HA! I knew you were having a sex dream. Payback is a bitch, Fields. That's for telling me I had gum in my hair." Hanna was beaming with pride. "And no, you weren't actually dry humping anything. Everyone is downstairs eating breakfast; we were letting you sleep in. Looks like you were getting to the good part." She winked at me before leaving the room.

I glanced at the clock, it was half past nine already. I really wanted to just close my eyes again and return to Dream Paige. Until I heard Hanna talking...

"You guys, you'll never guess what sweet, innocent Emily was dreaming about..."

"Hanna, no!" I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. I guess Dream Paige will have to wait until later.

* * *

**Paige's POV**

I woke up to the sound of a guitar solo blaring through speakers and bass vibrating the walls. My brother must be getting a jump start on his drinking. I glanced over at Taima, but she was still sleeping. She can sleep through anything. During a storm in Philly a tree brach snapped and went crashing through her window. Her parents rushed into her room only to find Taima, curled up in her bed, still sleeping peacefully. Later that year her parents installed two smoke detectors in her room, just incase.

I got out of bed and put on my swimsuit. The pool is the only place I have to escape my brother and this noise. He always left me alone when I was out there. It was like he respected swimming too much to disrupt me. This would have to be a quick swim, Taima and I made plans to spend the whole day in town. I told her that I wanted to show her around Rosewood, but she saw through that blatant lie. She knew that I was just hoping to run into Emily. Either way she didn't mind.

"Hey, Paigey," Adam was standing on the kitchen table looking like he was going to attempt to hang from the chandelier.

"Adam, get down," I yelled. Our parents worked hard to build a nice home for us and as much as I hated to admit it, I bothered me to see the home ruined like this. "Also, Adam, Taima is upstairs sleeping," I remind him, "can you please turn the music down a little?"

He jump off the table and rushes towards the radio turning it completely off. I don't know what is was about Taima, but Adam also seemed to go out of his way for her. I had always wondered if he had romantic feelings for her, but it was more like a brotherly love. I guess his real sister wasn't good enough to be shown that kind of affection.

"Thank you," is all I say to him as I walk out into the backyard.

I was never one for tip-toeing my way into a pool; allowing my body to adjust to the much cooler temperature. I would always cannonball into the deep end. Forcing myself to sink to the bottom. I would stay down there for as long as possible staring at the light rays dancing around on the water. No matter how much the chlorine burned my eyes I kept them open, I couldn't bring myself to look away. Eventually, I was able to hold my breath for over four minutes, my mother hated it. I would see her standing by the edge of the pool nervously waiting for me to resurface. Sometimes the wait would be too much and she would dive in after me, pulling me to the surface. I would laugh while she yelled at me for scaring her; then cannonball back into the water, starting the whole thing over again.

As for today though, I just wanted to swim. I dove into the deep end. I just let the water wash over me for a moment, not kicking, just gliding through the water. I thought back to how scared I was to look at Emily in English class. Worried about what would happen if I let her wash over me too. When I finally did give into her, I felt amazing. Effortless. It was the same feeling I was having now.

I began to kick my legs before moving into the different strokes. The butterfly was my favorite stroke. The strength and the timing took me a while to master, but when it finally clicked it was the only stroke I wanted to do. I went into my turn and as soon as I came up for air I realized that someone was standing by the pool. I ripped off my goggles, furious when I recognized who it was.

"Emily, why are you here?" I snapped while rushing out of the pool and moving towards her. She must have been scared because she took a step back before answering. The thought of scaring her made me sick to my stomach.

"We were dropping Aria off and we thought...I thought I would drop by and see you," she wasn't looking at me.

"You can't be here, Emily. You need to leave." I was pissed. I didn't want her to see my wrecked house, meet my brother, or see me swim. Suddenly, all of the reasons I wanted to stay away from Emily came flooding back to me. My life was in ruins and I didn't want her to know anything about me. I walked passed her, jerking my arm away when she reached for it.

"Paige, please wait, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here, but I couldn't wait to talk to you. I was really excited to see you." I could hear in her voice that she was trying to remain hopeful, but was starting to crack. _She was excited to see me._ Her words softened me a bit. Realizing that this was just her plan to see me. "Paige, I'm not judging you..." she started. Now all I was hearing was pity.

"Why would you judge me, Emily? Because your life is so perfect and my life is shit? What were you hoping for exactly? That that kiss meant something to me? It didn't. Do you understand? I was drunk and you were just another hot girl that was all too willing and easy." Tears were building up in my eyes; lying to her was becoming more difficult on me. "Did you think you were going to come here and I would pour my heart out to you about my dead parents? Or how about my brother that abandoned me when I needed him the most." Her eyes were wide now, tears falling slowly down her cheeks. She tried to reach for me, but I backed away. "Get lost, Emily! Seriously, just forget about me. I'm not some sad soul that you can save."

I left her standing there as I made my way back into the house. When I got the stairs Taima was standing there. I braced myself for what I knew was going to happen. She pulled her arm back and hit me square in the jaw, knocking me against the wall. I watched her run for Emily, who was now sobbing. She wrapped her arm around Emily's shoulder and ushered her out the front door. I've never been more thankful for Taima in my life.

She came back in ten minutes later with a determined look in her eye.

"Please not the jaw again," I plea thinking for sure she is going to hit me again. Instead she did something much worse. She grabbed my face, looked me dead in the eye, and reminded me that I just pushed away the only person that has ever made me happy.

"And I don't think she is coming back again, Paige."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Just kidding! I require nothing, except for maybe a sandwich. It would be nice to share a sandwich with one, raven-haired girl with a not so little secret, wouldn't it Sweet-T?

* * *

this girl does not give change

7

**Emily**

"I'm sorry Emily. Paige is my best friend, but she can be terrible sometimes. It seems like the more she cares about someone the harder she tries to push them away. I promise that you mean a lot to her." Paige's friend, Taima, was trying to comfort me, but I didn't want her to make excuses for Paige.

"It's fine, Taima, thank you. I honestly don't care. There is only so much a person can take before the source of their pain isn't worth it anymore." I said before climbing into Hanna's car.

"Emily, what happened?" Hanna was pulling me into a hug.

"Nothing that matters." I was trying to hold back my tears. In the short time that I've known Paige I have already cried too much over her. "Hanna do you think you could just drop me off in town please?"

She nodded her head as we set off towards town. I looked back at Paige's house just in time to see Paige walk out and head towards her motorcycle. For a moment I let myself hope that she was coming after me, but quickly pushed the thought out of my head when I realized that I didn't want her to.

* * *

**Paige**

"And I don't think she's coming back again, Paige."

"Well, that's wonderful news. I mean that's what I wanted; now I can continue to live my life without _that_ distraction." I smiled my best fake smile at Taima. The look in her eye told me that she wasn't believing a single thing that I just said though.

"Paige, when are you going to pull your head out of you ass?"

"You know, for someone that is supposed to be my _best friend_ you have done and said a lot of hurtful things to me today." I was getting angry now. "Just go back to Philly, I didn't ask you to come here and I sure as hell don't need any help living my life."

"You're right; you are doing such a good job living your life already. You already have all the love you need right, Paige? What was the name of the last girl you took home; do you remember? Did you even get her name? Oh, but that's love though, that's the right way to live your life. You're pathetic." Taima's words cut through me like a knife. That's the problem with friends, they are always trying to "help". My face began to feel hot as my anger started to increase. I grabbed my keys and bolted for the door. Emily was heading north so I hopped on my motorcycle and headed south. My only plan was to never see Emily again.

I continued south until I came across a wooded rest area. After being so angry earlier and coming up with the not-so-brilliant plan of just never seeing Emily again, I realized that my plan needed more thought. Never seeing Emily was not obviously not possible, unless I wanted to fail English. Lying on my back in the grass, I felt calm again. _A job!_ A job is just what I needed. It would be a way to earn some extra money and it would take my mind off of Emily. With the extra money I earn, maybe I would even start fixing up the house. This guy I met at school the other day, Toby, said that he was pretty good with carpentry work and I could probably get him to help me for a small wage. I felt pretty proud lying in the grass, making plans like a responsible adult. As for Emily, I guess I have to let her live her life without me.

I climbed back on my motorcycle and headed back towards Rosewood. There was a small town that I passed not too long ago, Ravenswood, I wanted to stop in. When I reached Ravenswood, I guessed it to be less than a half hour outside of Rosewood. My chances of running into Emily here would be slim. There was an unnerving energy in this town. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I assumed it would be the best place to find work. I walked around stopping in shops asking if they had any positions available. So far I was striking out left and right until I headed down a side road. There was only one building on this road, but I thought I would give it a try. To my surprise there was a "help wanted" sign in the window. _Hungry Owl Tavern _I thought, _well I'll give it a shot. _There was little light in the bar even though the sun was shining brightly outside. All the blinds had been closed and the windows were tinted. I knew from years of watching my brother drink that sunlight is alcohol's worst enemy. The place was empty with the exception of a few old men at the bar, I assumed they were probably the regulars. Every bar had them. I only saw one person working so I approached him.

"Hi Hun, what can I get for you," the weathered man greeted me.

"I saw your sign in the window that said you are looking for help. I'd like to apply." He gave me a once over while I spoke.

"This isn't Coyote Ugly. I'm looking for someone that can tend bar not take their top off," he replied.

"Well that suits me just fine. I don't take my top off for anyone, Pops." I don't know what it was about this place, but it was making me talk like I was living in a Western movie.

He chuckled a bit. "Are you even old enough to be around alcohol, Miss..."

"McCullers. Paige McCullers." _Great now I'm in a Bond flick. _"And yes I am." I handed him my fake ID.

He erupted with laughter. "Shoot Girly, do you think I was born yesterday? This ID is as fake as my teeth."

"It's work for me so far," I contended.

He scratched his chin for a bit, looking down at the bar. "Listen Girly, I'll give you a job, but you only work for tips. That way I don't have to be bothering with all that paperwork. The cops leave this place alone so I'm not really worried, but if anyone asks you are 21. Got it?"

I nodded my head eagerly.

"Also, names Red. I have a few rules: don't be late and don't drink the booze. Now, I assume you are in school so I'll only have you here on the weekends. We have a college crowd that comes in and I think they'll like you." He started to walk away before turning back to me. "And Thursdays. It's karaoke night on Thursdays. I expect to see you back here then."

"Thank you," I called out to him as he walked away. He threw up hand in a slight wave.

I made my way back to Rosewood, elated, and hungry.

* * *

**Emily**

After Hanna dropped me off and I convinced her that it was okay to leave, I wandered around town for a while. I was furious with Paige. I wanted to yell at her. She had her chance to yell at me, why shouldn't I be able to yell back? She is so stubborn, so smug, so damaged. I was pacing around town angry, wondering why she hadn't told me about her parents. She could trust me. It didn't matter anymore, though, there was no way I was going to forgive her now. _Yeah right._

I was so lost in my thoughts over Paige that I didn't even realize that I wasn't alone anymore. When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I jumped. _Paige?_

"Sorry, Emily, I didn't mean to startle you." It was Maya. I tried to hide my disappointment, of course Paige wouldn't be looking for me.

"Maya. Hi. It's fine," I kept my words short, hoping she would get the hint that she is last person I wanted to see right now.

"Ouch, Em." She got it, she just didn't care. "Can we talk please?"

"I don't have anything to say to you."

"But I have things I want to say to _you. _Please, Em. You broke-up with me out of the blue. I think you owe it to me to talk to me so I can have closure," she said.

"Fine," I responded coldly.

"Great!" It bothered me that Maya was so pleased that I agreed to talk to her. I was hoping this would be a somber affair for her, but as soon as I heard her tone I knew "closure" wasn't what she was after. She tried to grab my hand, but I pulled away. She looked back at me and pouted. _Sorry, but Paige's pout is a million times better than yours._

"Just walk," I said harshly.

We walked until we got to the Grille and she reached for my hand again. She doesn't take direction very well, but I let her grab it this time. I just wanted to get this over with and not start a fight about hand holding. She pulled me to a booth in the back and sat next to me, trapping me at the table.

"There is another seat on the other side. Away from me," I gestured across the table.

"I want to be able to talk to you without have to talk over the table. I don't want anything between us during the conversation," She squeezed my hand.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Speak quickly. I have other things to do." My harsh demeanor towards Maya was surprising me. I had never been like this with her before. I always just let her have her way, not wanting to cause a fight. When we fought, she would disappear for days, until I begged her to come back. I had to promise her that I would never do whatever it was I did again; in reality, she just didn't want me to stand up for myself anymore.

"Emily, I miss you," she started.

"Okay, this conversation is over," I tried to scoot out of the booth, but she wouldn't move.

"Please, you said you would talk with me. Just listen to what I have to say and I'll leave you alone. Deal," she said smirking. It only made me realize how much I liked Paige's smirk. "As I was saying, I miss you. What I did to you was wrong and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything, leaving you in the woods, making you feel like you didn't matter, being selfish..." I finally meet her gaze and noticed her eyes were glossy from the tears that were building up. "I treated you so unfairly Emily. I took you for granted, but I need you to know that I love you. I love you so much more than you realize." I was starting to relax. She seemed to notice it too, because she continued. "I still love you. I know that I don't deserve it, but can I please have a second chance? I'll change."

"If you loved me so much then why did you treat me like crap," I asked.

"I was foolish. I thought you still knew how much I loved you even though I wasn't showing it. But you breaking up with me was the best thing for me. It made me realize how much I need you in my life. I'm willing to do anything to make it up to you." I shook my head, but I felt myself starting to cave a bit. She moved closer to me resting her other hand on my leg. "Please give me another chance. We can go to homecoming together like we planned. We'll just take things slow until I earn your trust again."

I thought back to what made me break up with Maya in the first place, it was Paige's words. Paige made me think that I was too good for Maya, even though I'm apparently not good enough for Paige. Perhaps I was too hasty to end things. Maya and I had plenty of good times to make up for the bad ones. I felt like I owed it to her to give her one more chance. I slowly nodded my head without looking at her.

"Is that a yes," she asked excitedly.

"Yes, but the second you mistreat me I'm gone," I got the feeling that my warning was falling on deaf ears.

"Okay, I got it. I love you! I'm not going to let you down," she squealed and leaned in to kiss me.

Her lips felt _blah_. She wasn't kissing right. She wasn't kissing like Paige. I was growing frustrated at how bad of a kisser this girl was and that I never realized it before. I took control of the kiss trying to salvage it, but it wasn't working for me. She moaned a little. I'm sure it was meant to be sexy, but it just made my stomach turn. Finally, I broke our kiss apart. I was going to tell her I changed my mind until I saw Paige standing in the Grille. Staring at us. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I grabbed Maya's face again and continue to kiss her. I didn't close my eyes this time, instead I stared right back at Paige. She was standing there with a dumb smirk on her stupid, gorgeous face like she was challenging me. _Oh God, can she tell I'm not enjoying this? _She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow, daring me to continue. I was about to give up when Maya slid her hand further up my leg, a lot higher than her hand should be in public. My eyes widened. I noticed Paige's face changed too. She was no longer grinning, but scowling. Her eyes were intense with rage, her fists were balled up. I knew I needed to stop this before Paige killed Maya. I pushed Maya away and moved her hand off of my thigh.

"I'm sorry, that was too much. It's just that that kiss was _so_ hot." Of course Maya would say that. She could never tell when I wasn't enjoying myself. I looked around her, to see if Paige was still there, but she left. I heard a motorcycle rev outside and my stomach dropped. Still not totally understanding what happened.

* * *

**Paige**

When I got back to Rosewood I decided to make my way to the Grille. A celebratory hamburger after finding a job sounded pretty good. I put in my order at the counter; a blue cheese bacon burger with sweet potato fries. Eating unhealthy food was not a common occurrence for me so I liked to do it right when I indulged. While I was waiting for my food I looked around for an open seat, witnessing some commotion in the back booth. _Ah, young love _I thought until I recognized the pair. _Emily and Maya. What the hell? How could Emily make that mistake again? _I was going to pull them apart, but as I got closer I decided against it. I had already interfered in Emily's life enough and if Maya was who she wanted then I just needed to leave them alone. Except when the girls pulled apart I saw Emily's face; I could tell that she wasn't enjoying it. I couldn't stop looking at her face. She was kissing Maya even though she didn't want to. I didn't understand. Then she looked at me and a hint of something devilish flashed in her eyes. She pulled Maya in for another kiss and I had to stop myself from laughing. She did _not_ want to play this game with me. I smirked at her, cocking my head to the side. Emily was hating this and I wondered how long she was going to keep it up. I started to get a little more cocky when I saw her wince a little. Looks like Maya got a tad too aggressive with a bite. Crossing my arms over my chest I gave her an "I dare you" look.

Seeing Emily kiss Maya hadn't bothered me, I thought it was funny. Emily was hating it, but the silly girl kept going to make me jealous. It wasn't until Maya got to confident, that I got angry. She put her hand on a part of Emily's body where it didn't belong. I tried to calm myself down by squeezing my fists tightly. I wanted to yank her off Emily. Let her know that I was the only that could touch Emily like that, but knew it would be bad if I did. Luckily, Emily pulled away from Maya and moved her hand. Emily took her eyes off of me and I seized the opportunity to slip away. Still enraged. There was nothing that I could do about it though. I was the one that told her earlier that I didn't want to be with her. It was my fault she was back with that snake. My plan changed, instead of avoiding Emily I was going to make it so she couldn't escape me. I understood that this was meant that I was going to have to open up to Emily, but I didn't care. Maya was bad news and I just drove Emily back into her scaly arms.

I started my bike and made my way towards home. I needed to get someone laps in, get my conditioning back up. Of course there would be no more hamburgers for me. Try-outs for the swim team started Monday.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **One banana, two banana, three banana, four: this is my fourth update, but they'll be many more. For those of you just joining us because you were - oh, I don't know sleeping last night - I went on sort of an update rampage. This is the fourth update in that last 12 hours. So you have to go back to chapter five if you are just now tuning in.

* * *

a change would do her good, but it's not going to happen

8

**Emily**

This was not going to be a fun day. I could tell as soon as I woke up that the odds were stacked against me. Maya and I are back together, but I still haven't told my friends. Instead, I did the "mature" thing and avoided them for a couple days. It's Monday though, today was the day that I was going to face the music. My news was not going to sit well with them, especially Spencer. Spencer always hated Maya, since the first day I introduced them to each other. I brushed it off as Spencer being Spencer, but it turns out her instincts were more accurate than mine.

Of course, I also had a Paige problem. I still can't wrap my head around what happened at the Grille on Saturday. She didn't seem to care that I was kissing Maya until Maya tried to feel me up. I'm not sure if it was jealousy or is she was angry that Maya was being inappropriate. Either way she was the last person that I wanted to see. I would rather face the wrath of Spencer than deal with Paige's head games. Maybe if I just keep my head down I can avoid seeing anyone today.

The only thing that I am looking forward to today is swim tryouts. This is my last year at Rosewood High and I have a really great feeling about this season. Maybe it's just the excitement of my final season, but this year is going to be the best.

"Hi." I looked up to see that Paige was greeting me with a smile. Seems fitting that the last person I want to see is actually the first person that I end up seeing.

"Hi, Paige," I replied and started to walk faster. It was no use she stepped in front of me.

"I got you a coffee. Actually, I got you two coffees, one is plain black and the other is the most girly latte I could think of: something like non-fat, vanilla, whipped, cinnamon swirl, kitchen sink, double shot, or whatever." Of course, she would make it almost impossible to not smile at her. "You can pick one or if you are looking for something in-between, I can combine the two for you and make a super coffee. You look good today."

"Paige, stop. What is this? What are you doing," I asked, annoyed with how charming and attentive she was suddenly being.

"These are coffees and I am bringing them to you. See." She held up both of the coffees in front of her and smiled so wide that it pushed her sunglasses up a little. "So, Em, are you in the mood for strong or sweet...or both?" She stepped closer to me and spoke in a low voice. "Because I can do both."

Her proximity and tone sent shivers down my spine, but I knew I had to keep my composure. She can't know how much she affects me. "I'm in the mood for you to leave."

"Sorry, Em, I stopped listening after 'mood for you', but sadly, there is no time for that because some of us are at school to learn. Maybe if you are still in the _mood _for me later I can help you out." She reached out and gave me one of the coffees before heading towards her class.

_Not again. How does she always seem to get the last word?_ She always leaves me standing there wondering what just hit me. I shrugged and took a sip of the drink. "How did you know I wanted the black coffee," I called out to her. She just looked over her shoulder and smiled at me, not saying anything.

"I'll see you at swim practice," I heard her say as she disappeared down the hall..._Wait, what?_

I was going to chase after her to make her explain herself, but before I could move I felt fingers intertwining with mine. I let out a heavy sigh and looked at Maya. "Hi Maya." I felt bad. I told her that we would try again, but didn't feel like I was giving her much of a chance. She did seem like she was putting a lot of effort into gaining my trust back. Not being too overbearing or too distant. It actually felt nice having her in my life again. We still needed to work on her kissing though.

"Hi, Sweets," she said as she leaned in to kiss me.

"Are you _serious_?!" _Busted. _I could tell by her tone that Spencer was pissed. I tried to squeeze Maya's hand tighter, but she pulled away and left. Leaving me to face Spencer all on my own.

"Spencer, calm down," I pleaded. I didn't want a scene.

"I'll calm down when I knock some sense into you. How can you be back together with Maya? Is she blackmailing you?" Spencer was seething.

"No, of course not. We talked and decided to give us another chance. She is really trying Spencer, if you hadn't scared her off you would have seen that she is being better."

"Emily, the fact that I was able to scare her off just adds to my disdain for her. If she really cared she would have stayed by your side. Instead, she left you to deal with things yourself...again. Come let's go find Aria and Hanna."

I couldn't deny that Spencer had a point. I really wished Maya would have stuck around and least supported me. Maya doesn't have anything to prove to my friends, but it would be nice if she stood by me occasionally.

* * *

**Paige**

I'm really not proud of what I am about to do. As much as I don't want to meddle in Emily's life, I really can't just sit by, idly, while Maya gets germs on her. Emily is too sweet to just give up on someone. I know that my comment about swim practice is going to leave her a little baffled, now it's time for phase two.

"Hi, we haven't been formally introduced. I'm Paige McCullers." I extended my hand towards Spencer and gave her my most welcoming smile. Spencer sized me up, not saying anything. "I'm a friend of Emily's," I included.

"Yes, hello. You are the girl that was trying to smother Emily with your mouth on Friday night." _Jealous Spencer?_

"Well, I'd like to think that I was trying to breathe life into her, but I guess it doesn't matter. I was too slow and I missed my chance." _Come on, Spencer, play along. _She only nodded at my hint for a moment and I began to worry phase two wasn't going to work out after all until...

"What do you mean you were 'too slow'?" _Here we go._

"Oh no, she didn't tell you guys. I shouldn't have said anything, just forget it please," I was trying hard to keep a straight face.

"Tell us what," She asked impatiently. _So pushy._

"Okay, but please don't tell her that I told you. I saw her on Saturday with Maya and it looked like they were back together."

"No, that's impossible. She wouldn't get back together with her."

"Well they were making-out at the Grille. Listen, I am probably assuming the worst because I was a little jealous. It might be nothing if she didn't tell you guys about it," I said. "I should probably get to class. Please, don't tell her I said anything."

"I won't." _She will._ I could see the wheels in Spencer's head turning. Then she left in Emily's direction. Emily was clearly not receptive to me hanging around her all day and I had to find someone else to look after her.

I watched from down the hall as Maya left Emily standing on her own to face Spencer. I might not be proud of what I did, but in that moment I knew that it was right thing. _Sorry Em._

* * *

**Emily**

"Emily, what are you thinking? Why would you take her back after everything that she has put you through? People don't change overnight." Hanna's tone was a little softer than Spencer's, but surprisingly, not by much.

"On Saturday we ran into each other in town. We decided to give us another shot. Please accept my decision because I don't want to have to choose between my friends and my girlfriend." I was really hoping they would understand and drop the subject.

"Of course we support you, Em. I guess we are just confused. I mean, what happened to Paige," Aria asked. I was shocked Hanna hadn't told her.

"Paige made it very clear that she does not want me. I left her house crying on Saturday because of the things she said to me." This conversation was going from bad to worse.

"So, Paige hurt you then you got back together with Maya a little later." Aria said with skeptisism.

"Wait, when I talked to Paige, she made it seem like you got back together with Maya without giving her a shot," Spencer said.

"When did you talk to Paige," Now I was skeptical.

"Earlier this morning. Before I talked to you. She approached me in the hall and told me about you and Maya."

_Paige McCullers, you are dead._

As I reached for the door of the natatorium I was thankful it was time for swim tryouts. This day had been worse than I expected. After finding out what Paige did I spent the rest of the day looking for her, unsuccessfully. I really don't know what kind of game she is trying to play. If she doesn't want me then what does it matter that I am with Maya?

As I rounded the corner of the lockers my eyes locked onto hers. "What are you doing here, Paige," I asked, not bothering to hide my anger.

"I'm here to swim. See, I have goggles. You are asking a lot of obvious questions today," she replied.

"This is not cute anymore. Honestly..."

"Wait, when was I cute? Emily Fields did you think it was cute when I brought you coffee? Be honest." She winked then started to undress.

"No, don't take your shirt off. Keep your clothes on," I begged.

"I can't swim fully clothed," she retorted while lifting up her shirt.

I grabbed her shirt and pushed it back down. She laughed and it echoed through the locker room. She attempted to remove her shirt again, but I just pushed it back down. This time she just smiled - _no smirked_ - she smirked. Her hands started to travel to her belt buckle, but she never took her eyes off me. My breath caught. On the one hand I wanted to make sure her clothes stayed on, but I don't know if I could handle being that close to the buttons on her jeans. Especially with the bold way she was looking at me. She undid her belt and stood there, waiting for me to make my move. _Fuck it. _I grabbed her belt and cinched it tight before buckling back up. She lurched forward putting her head on my shoulder, clinging to her belt, trying to created space.

"What's a matter, Baby? Too tight," I whispered in her ear.

"There's no such thing." She chuckled. Her voice strained while she desperately tried to undo her belt. _Unbelievable._

When she finally got her belt undone she pushed me back gently. In a few swift movements she was standing in front of me, shirtless, shoeless, with her pants around her ankles. I immediately moved my eyes to the ceiling to avoid looking at a half-naked Paige.

She started to remove her pants the rest of the way. "You know, the longer you stand here the more awkward it's going to get. Thanks for not gawking me though. I know how you girls are and I'm not a piece of meat," she teased.

"Please don't tryout. I know what you are doing and I know that you talked to Spencer earlier. Stop forcing yourself into my life."

"No," was all she said.

"So, you admit that you are doing this just to be around me," I asked.

"Of course I am. I'm going to tryout. Tomorrow I'm going to bring you coffee, walk you to class, carry your books..." She stepped closer to me and I instinctively put my hands on her waist, suddenly remembering she is in her underwear. Before I could remove my hands, which I admit I was doing slowly, she put her hands over mine; holding them in place. "And earlier I said I would help you with the fact that you are in the mood for me." I could see how fast and strong her pulse was in her neck. It mirrored mine. I wanted so badly to feel her pulse under my lips.

"I'm angry with you," I said softly, still starting at her neck.

"I know." She pulled me into her more. Pinning my hands behind her back and holding them there.

"If you don't want me then why are you doing this," I asked.

"You shouldn't be with Maya. You're too good for her. You're too good for me. You're probably too good for everyone that you'll meet, but you should at least find someone that tries." She said as she pushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear, letting her hand linger on my cheek.

I shoved her to get her away from me. "So you're manipulating me because you think that you have a say in my life? Paige, you don't matter. Everything you say is a lie and I don't want to be around someone like you. Remember that the next time you want to toy with a girl's emotions." I heard my voice start to crack so I turned around to determined to storm out of the locker room. I didn't get very far before I felt Paige grab me by the waist pulling me into her.

"Em, please. I'm sorry. I won't tryout if it bothers you that much."

I pushed her arms down and turned around to look her in the eyes. "No Paige, I want you to tryout. I hope you make the team, because I'm the captain and I'm going to make your life miserable. Now get your suit on you're late."

"Wait, Em, before you go. Do you have a swimsuit I can borrow? I didn't know I needed one," she said with a laugh.

I stormed away from her not even bothering to hide my frustration anymore. _She wants to play games I can play games._

* * *

**Paige**

As soon as Emily walked out of the locker room I stopped laughing. I shouldn't have stood so close to her. Now I had to will the butterflies in my stomach to settle down. _Well I messed that up. _It wasn't my intention to upset Emily that much. Sure, I figured she would be a little pissed, but not this angry. She actually said that she is going to make my life "miserable". As if anything that girl could do would make anyone miserable.

After I got my suit on, I sat down on the bench and started to wonder if this was a bad idea. Emily had a point, I was the one being manipulative now. I was just as bad as Maya. I wasn't even trying to be everything she deserves.

Except, I care about Emily. If I thought that I could give her everything that she deserved I would ask her to be with me without hesitation. I could be the person that tries for her.

I was lost in thought until I heard Emily shouting, "McCullers, you're already late. Get your ass out here and start giving me laps."

_God I love it when she talks like that._

* * *

**AN2: **I've updated my profile with updates about updates.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Let's try this again...sorry about the post earlier, I'm not sure what was wrong with it. Hopefully it'll work now.

* * *

change? her? never!

9

**Paige**

Maybe I should have stopped poking the beehive while I still had a chance to get away. The look Emily was giving me was like she was trying to pick the perfect place to dump my body. She's smaller than me, but I'll admit that in this moment, I'm a little terrified of her. My body was in her hands and I knew payback was coming my way. I honestly didn't mean for us to end up like this. I just wanted to help her out of the woods that night. Soon I found myself wanting to protect her from everything. My intentions are good, but I just haven't figured out the best way to protect a girl that isn't mine. Aside from making her mine, obviously. Still protecting her would be quite the endeavor because she is a lot more brave than people give her credit for.

As I made my way to the sign-up table, Emily started walking towards me. I could almost see the wheels in her beautiful mind turning. She was planning something; I braced myself, waiting for _her _fun to begin.

"Name and event," Coach Fulton asked.

"Paige McCullers, 50m, 100m, 200m, any stroke," I replied. The coach nodded and started to write my events down.

"Coach," Emily said. _And it begins_. "We already have a quite a few sprinters. I think we should see what Paige can do at the 800 and 1500 free. She looks like she can handle it." My face dropped right away. _Seriously! _Emily turned towards me, looking satisfied with her payback thus far. She knows I can't handle distance swimming. I'm a sprinter, I dive in, swim as fast as I can, then I'm done. I don't know how to pace myself for the longer races.

"Paige, how does that sound," Coach Fulton asked. Before I answer, Emily blows me a kiss. Clearly, I have underestimated how cunning she can be. There is no way I'm going to give in that easily.

Never taking my eyes off of Emily's I respond, "Sounds great. Sign me up for everything, 50m through 1500m. I'm versatile." Emily looks deflated for a moment and breaks away from my gaze to look down. I knew that she was too nice for this kind of thing. She is probably the kind of girl that gently guides spiders out of her house. Still she is not giving up yet. Not that I want her to. As I walked away from the table, Emily was right beside me.

"Good luck out there," Emily said.

"A person doesn't need luck when they have skill, Fields. You of all people should know that." I looked over at her just in time to see a slight smile sneak across her lips. She quickly recovered, returning to her tough girl look. Apparently, Emily's idea of tough is pouting a little, scrunching her nose, and furrowing her brow. It's pretty adorable. Instead, of being intimidated it made me want to plant little kisses all over her until she smiles again. I resisted though, not wanting to spoil her fun.

I moved to the pool to warmup with rest of the girls. Everyone else was diving in so gracefully, but I decided to cannonball into the water like always. I forced myself to the bottom and waited. It might seem weird, but this was a great way for me to warmup. It prepared my lungs for the lack of oxygen they'll experience during the races. After I do this I usually swim a few laps and I'm good to go. I estimated I was down there for around three minutes before I saw Emily standing by the edge of the pool. Knowing that her thinking I drowned was just going to piss her off more I decided to resurface. Although, part of me was curious if she would dive in after me.

"Are you going to take this seriously," she asked, scowling at me.

"I am taking it seriously. That's how I warmup." I swam to the edge of the pool where she was standing. Emily just threw her hand up in the air; I assume she's a little annoyed.

"Okay girls, listen up. We are going to start with the distance swimmers first. Sprinters move off to the side and try to keep warm." It was then that I realized how well Emily's plan of torturing me was going to work. I had been hoping that they would start with the short distance swimmers first. Perhaps, if I was fast enough there would be no need to swim the long distances. Now, I had to swim the long distances and maintain enough energy to do the sprints. If I failed at both I won't making the team. _Clever girl._

As I made my way to the blocks, a nervous feeling started to rip away at my cockiness. It has been along time since I've been forced out of my comfort zone. The act of swimming was familiar and comfortable. However, swimming the distance that I was facing was not. I had no idea how to approach it, how to pace myself, when to breathe, when to start my speed burst for the finish. My mind was racing as I stepped on the block, adjusting my goggles for the fourth time, then double-checking my cap. Instinctively, I looked for Emily. She seemed to be able to recognize my fear because her demeanor had softened. When she gave me a warm smile and a slight nod, everything I was thinking fell away. The nerves turned to clarity. I knew as long as I stayed with the other girls, my finishing speed would put me ahead of the pack. On the coach's word, I steadied myself, toes hanging over the edge, hands gripping the front of the block. When the whistle blew, I dove in.

The problem with old habits is that they're hard to break. I was swimming too fast. When I approached the wall, I prepared for my turn. It was flawless, but the good feeling was short lived when I realized that I was more than half a pool length ahead of the other girls. So, I stopped. To be honest I didn't even know how many times I was supposed to touch before the race was over. I needed to swim with the group. Treading water while waiting for the other girl to catch up was sort of awkward. Emily had her hands on her knees, shamelessly laughing. Her laughter echoed loudly off the walls of the natatorium. Soon, I was laughing along with her at how ridiculous this whole situation was. Because of her little plan I had predicted I would be tired, but not embarrassed. Coach gave me a questioning look; I just shrugged.

Finally, the other girls caught up and I began swimming again, this time staying with them. I had to watch them each time we neared the wall to see if they were preparing to turn. After what I quickly estimated to be about 1,000 laps, exhaustion and boredom started to slow me down. _This sucks. I need a nap. I should have played soccer. _It was like swimming in my pool at home. Where was the excitement in this? I was lost in my thoughts and stopped paying attention when I heard cheering coming from the people around the pool. I looked around me and noticed that the other girls had taken off. They were too far ahead of me for me to finish first. I had a chance to finish with some dignity, but it would take everything I have. So I gave it my all. My muscles strained with each fast, strong kick. Twisting my body, stretching my arms as far as they would go, I propelled myself through the water. I kept my head down and extending my count. I didn't need to breathe as much as the other girls. I closed my eyes, trying desperately to tap into my reserve energy. My muscle were failing now, fatigued due to the long swim I just put them through. Finally, with one last burst, my hand hit the wall. I immediately pulled myself out of the pool and ripped my goggles off. Not bothering to look at the other swimmers. I was furious. Furious with myself for playing Emily's little game to the point where my body was spent. Now there was no way I was going to be able to tryout as a sprinter. It occurred to me that making the team wasn't just about watching Emily anymore, that I really wanted to be on the team for myself. I headed back into the locker room when I heard Emily calling for me.

* * *

**Emily**

"Paige. Where are you going," I called out to her, but she ignored me, disappearing into the locker room.

"That was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen," Coach Fulton said. "Go get her, Fields. I need that girl on this team."

Watching Paige move through the water was like watching a shark that is about to attack. She was so powerful, focused on her goal, but unmistakably lithe. Her face was calm when she came up for air, but her body told a different story. For a moment I was captivated by the water moving around her straining muscles. Everyone was silent. All eyes were on her as she caught up to the one of the other swimmers. She was so far behind them before, it seemed impossible she would be catching them now. The whispers began as soon as we all realized she was going to overtake the group. We erupted in cheers when she finished first, an arm length ahead of the next girl.

When I found her in the locker room I could tell that she was irritated. She was pacing back and forth, mumbling to herself. I thought maybe I should keep my distance until I heard her say "because she's beautiful". My heart fluttered with the hope that she was talking about me. I was enjoying listening to her rant, but decided to put her at ease, perceiving that she had no idea what she just accomplished in the pool.

"Paige, that was amazing," I said as I pulled her into a hug.

She looked at me quizzically. "What are you talking about? I blew it." She sighed as she rested her head on my shoulder. She was clearly angry, but I could tell by the way she was clutching my jacket that she only angry with herself.

"You didn't blow anything except for everyone's mind. You're on the team." I said excitedly. We were still for a moment, she was still clutching my jacket. I began to worry that she was mad at me. It would be an understandable response to what she just went through because of me. I started to tense until I felt her smile against my shoulder.

We both laughed as she lean away from me. "I made the team? Well why didn't you say that in the first place?" She pulled me in tighter before picking me up and spinning me around in a circle. When she set me down her face was glowing. Her sparkling eyes were punctuated by her bright smile. Seeing this giddy side of Paige was amazing. Paige was playful, but it was more banter than anything else. This was the first time I was seeing her so carefree.

Her face changed, abruptly, from joyful to concerned. "Wait does this mean I have to be a distance swimmer?"

"No, goofball, you are undeniably a sprinter," I replied, laughing. When she smiled again, I knew that I had been right to think that this season was going to be great.

* * *

**Paige**

After tryouts I wanted to celebrate. I wanted to celebrate with Emily. Red called me earlier, though, and asked if I could come in tonight for some training. Since it was probably better that I know how to tend bar before actually doing it, I agreed to work. At least I got to walk Emily to her car. We walked together silently, her arm was laced around mine, protecting herself from the cold air.

When we finally reached her car she leaned against it and slipped her hands into the pocket of my hoodie. My mind was racing. I wanted to act natural, but I was lost over what to do next. Feeling a slight tug on my sweatshirt I moved closer to her. I wanted so many things: to be the one she can count on, to support her, to make sure she is warm, but none of those scenarios involved walking away from her anymore. That was the one thing I was sure about.

"Paige..." her voice was soft, but it was speaking volumes. This was going to be a conversation that neither of us were really ready to have. I had to keep it from happening.

"Emily, I'm sorry for the way I acted. You deserve to be with someone that will give you everything they have and if Maya is willing to do that, then it is not my place to interject." My jaw clenched at the thought of not fighting for her, but I worried that the harder I pulled the more she was going to push me away. "Don't worry I'm still going to bring you coffee though. A girl needs her coffee. Friends' coffee." She smiled at me and tried to pull me even closer, but I resisted this time. Any closer and I would be pressed against her. There is only so many times a person can tear themselves away from Emily before they give up trying. I knew that I was quickly reaching my limit.

Her smile faded when she felt my resistance. "Is that what you want," she asked.

"Yeah, you are less cranky when you have coffee. I'm doing a public service," I replied giving her a goofy smile. Purposely avoiding her real question. When reached around her to open the car door for her, I felt her hand on my cheek and her lips brushing against my ear.

"A girl needs more than coffee," she whispered. Saying that I was dumbstruck would be an understatement. My entire body shut down except for my hands that were straining to reach out for her. Finally my brain flickered back on, but only to become hyperaware of the fact that, despite my best efforts, I was pressing Emily against her car. Her cheek was against mine, her breath gently moving my hair, my lungs were filling with her scent. "But I appreciate the apology and your decision," she said as she used her hips to create space between us. "I should go. It's almost time for dinner." She looked at me expectedly for a moment before getting into her car. I was still at loss for words, which was probably a good thing. "See you tomorrow, _teammate."_

"See you tomorrow, Fields," I managed to say. I watched her drive out of the parking lot and down the road before I finally let out a frustrated yell.

* * *

My first night as a bartender was proving to be uneventful. I was hoping for a bar fight that I would have to breakup, maybe someone needing to be eighty-sixed. At least a cute co-ed that wanted to piss off her parents with her first lesbian fling. Instead, I poured beers and was forced to pick a side in the debate over WWII or Vietnam being the worst war. Asking them if they could think of me as Sweden didn't help.

"Sweden? I've got a thing or two to say about Sweden..." one of the men said.

"Don't worry, it gets a lot more exciting on weekends," Red assured me.

"It's okay, I'm writing a paper on why I can't be Sweden in the great war debate, so this is a big help." I didn't bother with masking my sarcasm.

Red laughed and scratched his chin. "If you say so girly, I'll let 'em know to talk about gorilla warfare next."

"Oh such a helper," I replied as I rolled my eyes.

"Gorilla warfare? I've got a thing or two to say about gorilla warfare..." I slowly inched away from the men hoping they wouldn't notice until I reached the safety of the other side of the bar.

I thought my luck was changing when an attractive girl walked in. She surveyed the place before sitting down at the bar. _This girl probably has absolutely nothing to say about gorilla warfare. _She was still looking around the bar and checking her phone so I assumed she was waiting for someone.

"Hi," I said. "What can I get for you?"

She studied me for a moment, then smiled slyly at me. "Well what do you have? I'm craving something sweet with some bite," she licked her lip a bit when she asked me. The look on her face was letting me know that she has forgotten all about the person she was waiting for.

"That sounds like a pretty complex combination," I replied, leaning on the bar towards her.

"Oh it's very complex, but when you find it, it's _so_ satisfying." She started tracing my fingers with hers. "I'm Shana and you are too cute."

Now I know how to flirt with girls. This is the part where I introduce myself, compliment her. Give her enough information about me so she knows I'm not an axe murder, but I'm still mysterious. Then spend the rest of the night challenging her a little until we get to the point where I asked her if she wants to get out of here. And she will. The only problem is, I don't want to get out of here with this girl and I'm not interested in what she has to say. She is beautiful, inviting eyes with a captivating smile, but for some reason I wasn't interested. _I must be losing it._ She stopped playing with my fingers, likely sensing my disinterest. Shrugging it off she ordered a gin and tonic, but she wasn't ready to give up.

"Are you seeing someone?"

I shook my head and handed her the drink.

"Then there is no reason you can't have some fun," she persisted. Her hand was back on mine how. When I shook my head again she leaned in closer to me and continued, "if you change your mind, my girlfriend and I would love for you to join us tonight." She moved her hand to my wrist, gripping it tightly.

"I'm flattered, but I have to decline."

"What if it was just us? I'm willing to leave my girlfriend out."

"Really? Is that part of your arrangement?"

"No, but she won't find out. And if she does, I'm willing to risk it for you." She trailed her finger up and down my arm while she spoke.

"Still, I'll pass. You're too much trouble for me," I say with an apologetic smile.

"Fine. Too bad," she replied with a heavy sigh.

I watched her take a seat in the front room of the bar while considered my options. She had a point, I _am_ single, and I haven't had _fun _since I moved to Rosewood. She is beautiful and there's going to be two of them. I was forcing it now, trying to talk myself into accepting her offer. After all, Emily has Maya and they could be having _fun_ right now. The thought made my stomach churn. Shana would just be a substitute, though. Someone I was settling for because I can't have the real thing. _No more settling. _I'm a big girl, I can wait.

Keeping myself busy proved to be a little difficult. Shana was still waiting, nursing the same drink for that past half hour. The regulars had slowed down on their beers; I repeatedly wiped down the bar. I'm convinced that this is the cleanest the bar has ever been. Finally, I heard the front door open. When I saw who it was, my stomach dropped. _Maya. _I was sure that Emily wouldn't be far behind her and I began to worry. Watching Emily and Maya coo over each other from the bar was not going to make for a good first day at work. Sure I could look away I suppose, but I wouldn't. It's like seeing an accident, everyone knows they shouldn't stare, but we do anyway. Emily didn't walk in though and I realized that while I was watching the door for Emily, Maya had made her way over to Shana.

My hands started to go numb, but I didn't care. I was squeezing the bar like my life depended on it, trying to control my rage. When I saw Maya kiss Shana, I gripped the bar even harder, to the point where I felt either the bar was going to break or my fingers were. Maya was the girlfriend that Shana talked about. I saw Shana whisper something in Maya's ear and she looked over at me. Maybe I should have ducked or hid, but I wasn't thinking clearly; I just stared back at the both of them, fuming. Maya smiles at me and starts to make her way over to me. It occurs to me that Maya has no idea who I am. At the Grille her back was to me and that day I interrupted her and Emily's argument, the bleachers were blocking most of my face.

"My girlfriend was right about you, you are stunning." _Really? Is that your best line Maya?_

"Well that certainly is an upgrade from 'cute'," I say in response, giving her a slight smile. I'm trying to keep my face calm, channeling all of my anger to my fingers that are still squeezing the bar.

"She likes to downplay things. She is more nonchalant, whereas I am _very_ forward. Honesty is the best policy, right," she asked. I snickered at her question. _What does this girl know about honesty?_

"Seems like you have a pretty amazing girl. You're not worried about having competition?"

"Not at all. I'm extremely confident," she said with a wink.

I leaned towards her and looked her in the eyes. "Yeah, but there is always someone that's better right? And she knows it." I winked back at her while gesturing towards Shana. "That's why you two are here, looking for someone else. That's why she picked me; she knows I'm a competitor. I'm guessing this whole thing you two have going was her idea."

Maya was no longer smiling. She looked back at Shana who was staring passed her at me. I bit my lip when I smiled at Shana, making her grin bashfully. My gaze lingered on Shana so that Maya had to step between us to break the eye contact. "It's something we both enjoy. You're clearly not up for it." Maya let out a heavy breath and turns back towards Shana. They quickly gather their stuff and make an exit, but not before Shana looks back at me over her shoulder. She giggles, when I pout a little.

I finally let go of the bar, flexing my fingers to get the blood to flow back into them. Maya is cheating on Emily. _What do I do? What do I do? _I knew that this was going to hurt Emily. Being mistreated is one thing, but being cheated on was a whole different level of rejection that I didn't want Emily to have to face. This is a mess. If I tell Emily it's going to hurt her and she might not believe me. That'll just cause her to depend on Maya more. If I don't tell her though she'll find out eventually and still get hurt. Perhaps even more hurt because I knew and didn't say anything.

I sent Emily a text. I'm still going to try to keep Emily as close to me as possible and when the time is right, I'll tell her. Maybe she won't care. Maybe I can be enough for her not to care.

**Run tomorrow morning?-Paige**

I tapped on the bar, eagerly awaiting her response.

**Yes, let's. I usually go 6. Ok?-Emily**

_Running at 6 am sounds awful._

**Sounds great. I'll see you at 6.-Paige**

_Ugh the things I do for this girl._


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **I should probably work on my other stories.

* * *

ch-ch-ch changes

10

**Emily**

**I'm outside. If you're not out here in 5 minutes I'm taking a nap on your porch. -Paige**

**I'll be down in 6. -Emily**

**Don't test me, I'll do it. What will your neighbors think about the stray sleeping on your porch? You could at least leave food out for me. -Paige**

"But then I'll never be able to get rid of you." I said as I opened to the door to see an adorably grumpy Paige waiting for me. Her hair was messy: eyes still heavy from not being fully awake, sleepy lips doing their best to smile. I was tempted to let her have that nap, but only if it included me. "Can I bring you a blanket?"

"This is the worst..." Paige started to complain, but I cut her off.

"No complaining. This was your idea," I reminded her. "As soon as we get going you'll wake up."

"Well then why are you just standing here, Fields? Let's get going." She took off down the street, leaving me behind.

I laughed as I watched her continue in the wrong direction. "Paige," I called out to her, "wrong way. I run on the trail in the woods."

"Right," she replied and turned around. When she ran passed me again she took my hand. "Come on, Fields."

We had been running for a while, not saying anything to each other. She looked like she had something on her mind, but didn't want to talk. There seemed to be a lot of things left unspoken piling up between us. I knew that we had to clear them up. I wanted her to know she could talk to me and trust me. Part of me wanted to know that I could trust her too; wanted to see if she would let me open up to her. Yesterday, in the parking lot, I know that she was avoiding my question. Today, I wasn't going to let her do that again.

"Paige, I need a break." She looked at me quizzically, but shrugged when I sat down on a rock. "Can we talk?"

"I'd prefer to just run," she replied looking at the dirt she was pushing around with her foot.

"Why are you so afraid to talk to me on my terms? You don't mind talking when you are the one controlling the conversation, but when I say something you avoid me," I asked.

"Your conversations are the unknown. Who doesn't fear the unknown?" She sat down next to me, leaving a small gap between us.

"You shouldn't fear having a conversation with me. If you are not comfortable with the way the talk is going or a question, just tell me. This isn't an interrogation. I just want to understand you better," I reassured her. She nodded, giving me permission to pry. "Answer honestly, how did you know I wanted the black coffee?" I smiled when she tilted her head back and laughed.

She put her finger against her temple and closed her eyes. "Because I'm psychic. I can tell what you are thinking right now. Emily, don't think _that_; you are making me blush. _Dirty girl_," she laughed again. Maybe she is really psychic; her joke wasn't too far off from what I was actually thinking. Hopefully, she wouldn't see that I was _actually_ blushing. She composed herself and leaned towards me so that our shoulders were touching now. "Truthfully, I just guessed. Both of the coffees were black, because that's also how I take my coffee too."

"That was a pretty daring move. What if I had asked for the other one," I asked.

"It was an educated guess. You're not like other girls; you can appreciate things for how they are supposed to be. I figured if you liked coffee you wouldn't want all the milk, sugar, and syrups to complicate it," she said with a shrug. Like it was no big deal she put that much consideration into _my_ coffee.

"Wow, you put a lot of thought into my coffee." I was surprisingly touched at how what I thought was a simple gesture turned out to be anything but.

She nodded her head in agreement and sat up straight again so we were no longer touching.

"Well, thank you. It was very sweet."

She dipped her head and smiled slightly. I don't know what is causing Paige to be so bashful this morning, but it was a beautiful sight. "You're welcome. Ready to keep running?" She move to stand up, but I took hold of her hand, keeping her in her place.

"Not yet. Why were you trying so hard to push me away until you saw me with Maya," I asked.

"Pass."

"Paige, you can't just say pass, because I asked you a difficult question."

"Earlier, you said that I could. You can't just change the rules as you go," She reminded me, but I had to change to rules a bit if I was going to get her to talk.

"Yeah, but you have to give me something. 'Pass' is not an option."

"Fine. Remind me to never play a board game with you. I wasn't pushing you away as much as I didn't want you to get close in the first place. It was more like I was keeping you at arms length," She explained.

She was trying to avoid answering me again. "That doesn't answer my question, you just put it into different words."

"If I give you a very honest answer can this be the last question," she asked.

"Yes, as long as you know that there is still so many things I want to know."

"I know, Nancy Drew. You always have to get to the bottom of a mystery." She smiled softly at me before letting out a heavy sigh. "From the moment I talked to you in the woods, you immediately became a part of me." She paused for a moment, studying my face before she continued. "I felt something that I had always secretly hoped to feel, but I never knew how scary the feeling would be when I finally felt it. It was a sense of belonging," she grabbed the two rings on her necklace, "that I haven't felt in years. Not that you belonged with me, necessarily, but that I belonged with you: near you. I could have stayed with you in the woods, built a home in the meadow. Of course, we couldn't because you were bleeding from your face," she laughed gently. "I promised my heart that I would let you have it if you ever wanted it, but I lied. When you started asking me personal questions, I remembered who I was: who I am. I was reminded as quickly as I forgot, why my heart is under lock and key. My past would eventually find us in that meadow no matter how much I fought. Good intentions are not always enough; maybe I belonged in your life, but from afar. At the time I thought that being even just a small part of your life would be enough." She looked at me with so much sincerity, her eyes glistening with tears that she was refusing to let fall.

This was Paige, unguarded and delicate; she was truly breathtaking. I've never seen eyes so honest, her face conveying as much emotion as her words. The energy between us felt raw, but unbreakable. It was overwhelming; I needed to pour my emotions into her, but I didn't know how. Kissing her would be wrong; she looked so vulnerable that it would be like taking advantage of her all over again. All I could do was hold her, hopefully it was enough for both of us. I hoped whatever is between us was being strengthened through our embrace. Still, I couldn't resist asking her one more question. "Is being a small part of my life still enough?"

"You said no more questions remember," she smiled apologetically. I didn't push her; she had already given me more than I thought possible, but she continued. "I remember the feeling I had that night, the feeling of belonging mixing with fear. I remember it because it's the same feeling I still have when I'm with you. Except, everyday the fear is slowly being replaced with something stronger. Now _any_ part will never be enough."

_Kiss me. Kiss me please. I need to feel your emotions collide with mine. _I silently begged_. _Her words were swirling around me, leaving me feeling disoriented. Every experience I had of with her came flooding back to me: the smell of her skin, the warmth of her embrace, her strength, the feeling of her lips on mine, the feelings conveyed in her eyes. It was all too make and I began to feel dizzy. When I felt her hand on mine I was grounded again, anchored to that moment.

"Come on, we should to get you back home." She pulled my hand gently as she started to jog.

Running behind her I wondered if I did enough, said enough. "You belong," was all I could manage. I left off the rest of that sentence. The "with me" part would have to wait until we were both ready. When she looked back at me and grinned, I knew it was sufficient for now.

When we reached my house, I pulled her in for another hug. "Thank you." _For the most romantic moment of my life. _It was bittersweet having to leave so many sentences unfinished today. One day I would tell her, I promised myself that.

"For what," she asked, holding me tighter.

"For being honest. And for the coffee I know you're bringing me later." She laughed and let me go. "I'm looking forward to it. Don't forget."

"I won't let you down, Fields," she said as she backed away from my front porch. Her smile never leaving her face.

_I know you won't._

* * *

**Paige**

I've never heard anyone answer their phone with a series of curse words except for Taima. I was uniquely her. No matter what time of day I called I could count on a few f-bombs, but since it was before seven I knew I was in for an all out verbal assault.

Once the barrage of words that would make a sailor blush died down, I finally felt like I could talk. "Morning Sunshine, are you awake?"

"Maybe you should have asked yourself that before you called. Let's see, how many times have you spent the night at my house? How many times, Paige?"

"Too many times," I said trying to hold in my laughter.

"Right 'too many times'. And what time do I wake up for school? I'll tell you what time. Not seven in the freaking morning," she ranted. I couldn't keep myself from laughing any longer. I tried to cover my mouth, but it was no use.

"Are you kidding me? Don't snicker at me. Don't you dare wake me up then snicker at me." She was furious now.

"Snicker Taima? Who says snicker?" I teased.

"I do. I say it all the time. Matter of fact I'm going to say it at least five more times today. Snicker. Snicker. Snicker. Hi, may I have a Snicker bar? No, not Snickers, snicker."

I had to interrupt or she was going to go on all day. "Taima, shut up. I told Emily how I feel about her."

"Oh my God tell me everything." _Now_ she wanted to talk.

"Are you sure? You seem like you could use more sleep."

"No, I'm totes awake. Tell me." She demanded as we both laughed.

"Okay, but you have to promise you won't snicker."

* * *

**Emily**

It's an amazing feeling waiting for someone you knew was just excited to see you. I was waiting for Paige in the parking lot, rocking back and forth from my toes to my heels. Anxiously looking at my watch, disappointed that only a minute had gone by since the last time I looked at it. _Get a grip, you just saw her an hour ago. _When I heard the low rumble of a motorcycle, my heart jumped. There she was, I could see her red jacket from down the road. Now I was giddy. So giddy and focused on watching Paige that I didn't hear my name being called.

"Emily. Sweets, can you hear me," Maya asked as my eyes left Paige and focused on her.

My excitement over Paige was replaced by guilt when I realized that I hadn't thought about Maya this whole time. I went to bed thinking about Paige. Woke up thinking about Paige. Jogged thinking about and looking at Paige. Got dressed thinking about Paige. And now I was waiting for Paige.

"Yeah, sorry, just worried about a test I have today," I lied.

"I'm sure you'll do great," Maya said as she yanked me by my hand towards the school.

I looked around the parking lot for Paige, feeling like Maya was cheating me of this time that I could be spending with her. I saw her bike, but there was no sign of her.

There comes a point in a doomed relationship when you realize that things are truly over. In this moment, holding Maya's hand, but being extremely disappointed that I missed spending a moment with Paige; this moment was my breaking point. I had to end things, things never should have began again in the first place. "Maya we need to talk..." I wanted to get it over with. Just like pulling off a band-aid.

"Sweets I don't have time right now, but if you want me to come over later I will." I didn't like the suggestive tone of Maya's voice, but I nodded my head anyway. "Also, I got my dress for Homecoming and we are going to be the hottest couple there. I can't wait. I love you." She leaned forward to kiss my, but I turned a little so she ended up kissing me on the cheek. I told her that I think that I'm getting sick so that my reluctance to kiss her wouldn't hurt her feelings. "Aww poor baby. I'll take care of you tonight." _Why is it so much hotter when Paige is suggestive?_

I walked her walk down the hall until I felt a nudge on my shoulder "Paige," I said before turning around. Instead, I turned around to see Hanna in front of me holding two coffees.

"No, if I were Paige I would have you pinned up against a wall right now; kissing you breathless. Then I would make you cry the next day," Hanna quipped, making kissing noises at me. "She asked me to bring this to you though." I smiled as she held out a coffee for me. Hanna looped her arm around mine as we began to walk to class. "So, are we talking to her now? If you two have worked things out then I'm willing to try to be friends with her. She did, after all, bring me a latte. How did she know mocha lattes are my favorite?"

I laughed. "She's very perceptive. And yes, we are talking to her again. It was a misunderstanding. I did practically ambush her at her house. She has a lot she is trying to deal with, but we've worked it out. She's sweet, but doesn't have many friends. It would mean a lot to me if you gave her a chance."

"Okay, well I'm sold, because nom nom chocolate, but Spencer is going to be the one that you have to worry about," she said, throughly enjoying her latte.

"Ugh, don't remind me." As I brought my coffee up to take a drink I noticed some writing on the sleeve: _Sometimes I hide my feelings. _It looked like Paige's handwriting, but I wasn't completely sure. "Hanna, did you write this," I asked.

"No. It isn't signed by -A is it?"

"I think Paige must have wrote it." The thought of Paige leaving me little notes gave me butterflies.

"Aww cute," Hanna squealed. Apparently, it gave her butterflies too.

In class I found myself staring at the coffee cup, reading the words again. I couldn't help, but think there was more to what she was trying to say. On a whim I decided to look at the bottom of the cup and smiled when I say the black ink: _Not here. Look again_.

**You can't just tell me what you want to say? You have to make me search? -Em**

I took the lid off of the coffee and eagerly turned it over: _Try again._

**It'll mean more if you have to work for it. -Paige**

**It already means so much. Just one hint, please. :) -Em**

**Fine. What's behind the words is stronger. -Paige**

_Great, she is the Riddler now._

**Thanks, I guess. -Em**

**Happy to help. ;) -Paige**

I looked inside the cup: nothing. There are only so many place a note can be on a coffee cup. I stared at it a moment longer before pulling the sleeve down, feeling silly that I didn't think of it sooner. My smile grew bigger when I slowly revealed the black ink: _I wish I could be what you looked forward to in the morning. Be what you pressed your lips against to give you energy. _My heart swelled, tears building in my eyes. I never thought Paige could be this endearing or that she would be able to move me this much. My emotions run wild when I'm around her and now she is making sure I feel her pull even when she is not around.

**What am I going to do with you? -Em**

**Have lunch with me. -Paige**

Of course Paige would give me such a nonchalant response after she just made my head spin.

* * *

**Paige**

**What am I going to do with you? -Em**

_Oh, I can think of a few things. _I laughed to myself wondering what Emily was thinking. Everything I had shared with her today was coming from a place of honesty. Things that I only realized when I was being honest with myself.

**Have lunch with me. -Paige**

I've already opened myself up to her so much today and it wasn't even lunch time yet. I worried what having lunch with Emily would bring. _Probably a marriage proposal. _I rolled my eyes, feeling silly at how much I've told her.

**I'll see you in the courtyard. And don't worry your secret is safe with me. -Em**

**What secret would that be? - Paige**

**That you are secretly a sweet, romantic, softy. -Em**

_Only when it comes to you._

**Good. I would just deny it anyway. -Paige**

Few things make time move slower than when you can't wait to see someone. Right now it felt like the hands on the clock were moving backward as I waited for lunch to arrive. I watched the second hand slowly push the minute hand forward until finally the clock hit noon and the bell rang. Snatching my bag and throwing it around my shoulders I raced out the door. Emily's class was a lot closer to the courtyard than mine, but I didn't want her to have to wait too long. I was doing a half-walk/half-jog through the halls until I finally reached the door. Stopping before I opened the door so I could collect myself; I didn't want to seem overly anxious. When I walked through the doors I scanned the courtyard, searching for the wavy, black hair or the luminance smile that I have grown quite fond of. When I finally spotted her, I felt a little deflated; she was sitting with her friends. _Great._ Her friends were understandably upset with me over everything that happened between Emily and me. It's been dirty looks and the occasional insult, mostly from Spencer, since then. Approaching Emily now would just give them more chance to take shots are me. It's a good thing Emily is worth the verbal abuse.

_Well here it goes. _I slowly made my way over to them hoping Emily would turn around before they noticed me. Spencer's faced tightened into a scowl and I offered her a charming smile even though I knew it wasn't going to save me now.

"No, get out of here. You don't get to talk to her," Spencer was livid. I almost backed away until Emily turned around and gave me a reassuring smile. Knowing that I would need to make amends with Emily's friends eventually, I decided I might as well start now.

"Hi Em." Emily stood up right away and pulled me into a tight hug. The affection earned a scoff from Spencer.

"Hi Judge, Jury, and Executioner," I said, greeting Aria, Hanna, and Spencer. Judging by the look and the light slap to my stomach Emily gave me it probably wasn't the best way to start. _Well I thought it was funny._

"Emily, you don't have to lower your standards. There are plenty of intelligent, classy girls that would jump at a chance to be with you. Don't settle for trash." Spencer scrunched up her nose as she gestured towards me.

"Take it easy," Aria whispered to Spencer.

"You're out of line," Emily snapped back. This was not what I wanted. I never intended to cause a problem between friends.

"Like how she was out of line when she called you a slut and told you that she never wanted to talk to you again," Spencer responded.

"Whoa, I never called her a slut. I never called you a slut," I turned my attention towards Emily. She grabbed my shirt, trying to pull me away from the table before things got worse. I held my place and looked to Spencer again. Her eyes were burning with fury when she realized that Emily was going to walk away with me. "Spencer, please, I'm not proud of the way I treated Emily, but I am trying here. Trying to make up for the pain I caused. Meaning I'm going to be around her a lot, hopefully earning her trust back. I know that you are her best friend and you are going to be protective of her. I get that, I appreciate it even because I want what's best for her too. Maybe down the line I can earn your trust, but don't punish her because of your negative feelings towards me. Please."

"Shut _you_ up," Hanna said to Spencer making Aria and Emily laugh. I'm guess that Spencer not having anything to say was a rare occurrence.

Emily tugged at my shirt harder, pulling me away from the table. She was leading me towards the bleachers, it was a good place to talk. Honestly, talking was the last thing I wanted to do. I feel like I've already done so much talking today, I wanted to use my lips for something better. Then I remembered Maya. _Crap, I still have to tell her about Maya._

"Em, there is something that I need to say to you. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't tell you. It's about Maya..." Before I could finish Emily interrupted me.

"Maya," she exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing out of class?"

I spun around to see Maya approaching with Noel Kahn. She looked shocked when she recognized me, but that look quickly changed to mischief.

"Hi Sweets." She walked to Emily and gave her a kiss before she could respond. I took comfort in the fact that it didn't look like Emily was kissing her back. "Who's your friend?"

My face hardened, jaw clinched as Emily introduced us for what she thought was our first time meeting. "Yeah, we've met," I blurted out. Maya shot me a look trying to intimidate me. I didn't care. Emily deserved to know what kind of person that Maya is. "We met at the b..." Before I could finish Maya grabbed Emily's arm tight enough to make Emily wince and tried to pull her away.

My skin started to burn with anger. I clenched my fists and stepped towards Maya. "Get your hands off of her," I warned through gritted teeth. Just then I felt Noel's rough hand violently take hold of my arm. Instinctively, I turned around and dodged his punch before landing a shot of my own on Noel's cheek. Pain shot through my hand immediately as I landed a second punch. Noel stumbled, but wasn't backing down. He threw a punch that connected with my midsection. _Finally, a good fight..._


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: **Unicorn, unicorn, unicorn. Bacon...bacon bacon bacon. Girls.

* * *

you can't even change a diaper, how do you expect to change her

11

**Emily**

It's true what people say about quicksand: the harder a person struggles the more they sink. I was struggling hard right now, trying to break free from Maya's grip. Anytime I freed myself from one of her hands, she would just squeeze tighter with the other until she could regain her firm hold my clothes. Paige seemed like she was getting further away from me. I needed to get to her. Every time she took another punch I felt like I was feeling too. The sympathetic pain of seeing her hurt. My heartbeat pounding loudly in my ears was thankfully blocking out the sounds of fists connecting with their targets. I took comfort in the fact that it looked like she had the advantage in the fight. Noel was too slow and Paige was able to dodge most of his strikes, before countering with some of her own. Still the blood in the corner of her mouth was a painful reminder that this fight was not as one sided as I hoped it would be.

I felt like I had been thrashing to get away from Maya for hours, but in reality it had only been a few minutes. With a well placed knee to Noel's chin the fight was over. Paige staggered for a moment before her intense stare fell on Maya. Once Paige started to move towards Maya, Maya immediately released me. I ran to Paige wrapping my arms tightly around her. Her sharp breath made me realize that she might be more hurt than I thought. I took a step back to survey her; her clothes were torn a little and her lip was cut, but I didn't see any other obvious injuries. I noticed she wasn't looking at me, her glare still fixed behind me on Maya.

"Paige," I said as I moved my hands to her face, trying to soothe her. Her eyes were alert and she was panting erratically, still ready to fight if needed. She looked primal, it was unnerving. Aside from the fact that she was standing still, she didn't seem to be registering anything that was happening around her. It wasn't until Noel started to get up from where he had been lying that she finally connected.

"Don't you dare get up," Paige barked her warning at Noel before wrapping her arms protectively around me.

I took her face in my hands again and tried to get her to focus. "Paige, look at me." My voice cracked as I spoke, but she finally looked at me. Her icy stare was replaced with a look of tenderness and concern.

"Are you okay," she asked, frantically checking me for wounds like I had done with her.

"I should be the one asking you that."

"Is no one going to ask if I'm okay? I mean my _girlfriend _just ran into the arms of the girl that beat up my best friend instead of sticking by my side." Paige pulled me tighter as Maya spoke, turning me so she was between Maya and me now. "Emily, come with me and I won't tell the Dean about this." When I didn't move Maya elevated her threat. "Paige you just made the swim team right? Too bad fighting with definitely get you kicked off the team, but if Emily remembers who she belongs to then we can forget about this whole thing. Right Noel?" I slammed my eyes shut trying hold back the anger that was boiling up inside of me. For this fight, this day, to end I had to go with Maya.

"Consider it forgotten," Noel agreed.

"Fuck the swim team. The only reason why I was doing it was to be near you," Paige said this a soft smile. I knew that wasn't true though, she was excited about being on the team. I couldn't let Maya take that away from her.

I took a sharp breath and readied myself to hurt Paige. Before I could say anything my chest tightened and my throat forced all of the words back into my lungs. I just opened and closed my mouth like a fish gasping for air. All I could do was shake my head, but it was enough for Paige to understand. She squeezed me one more time the let me go. I made my way over to Maya, holding on to Paige's hand until the distance became to great for our arms to cover. Once I reached Maya, I looked back to see Paige walking away hanging her head and clutching her side. Had I been a braver person I would have told Maya off and ran after Paige. Nursed her wounds and promised to never abandon her again, but I'm not brave. Paige is brave, I'm a coward. I took out my phone, hoping to ensure Paige won't be alone.

* * *

**Paige**

I'm not sure what hurt worse, getting punch in the ribs or feeling Emily walk away from me. I couldn't even watch her leave. I just closed my eyes until I couldn't feel her finger tips anymore. She is just trying to keep me safe, but I can't help that I feel alone and betrayed. _I really hope opening up to her wasn't a mistake._

I continued to walk towards the student parking lot, not caring about the rest of school. In times like this that only this that was going to help was the bottle of Jack my brother stored in the freezer. Not bothering with my jacket or helmet I started my bike and backed out of the parking spot. Suddenly a blur of blonde hair appeared next to me, panting and clutching her knees.

"Hanna, what are you doing," my tone was clipped. I was sure that Emily sent her and I was not in the mood to be babysat.

"Emily...wanted...me," Hanna paused to take a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Oh God, I need to workout more. Emily wanted me to look after you."

"Tell Emily that she's already done enough," I said sharply. My tone was too rough and I immediately regretted it. I wasn't mad at Hanna or Emily, just hurt.

"Stop. Please don't make this difficult on me. I know that you are mad. She told me what happened and I'm a little pissed at her too. I understand what she is thinking though, she is just trying to protect you. So, stop being a baby and let me take care of you. Or if it makes you feel any better I'm being chased by zombies and I need you to look after me." She pouted when she was done with her little pitch. It made me wonder if Emily and her friends all got together and practiced pouting until it was perfect. Because I couldn't even say no to Hanna now.

"Fine, but only if you are being honest about the zombies," I teased. "Hop on," I said patting the seat behind me.

"Absolutely not." Hanna crossed her arms over her chest making it clear that she wasn't budging.

"Get on the bike," I demanded. She relented with a sigh and climbed on behind me.

"Are you like this with Emily?"

"Yes," I responded giving her the helmet. "Hang on."

She wrapped her arms around my waist. "I never knew Emily was that kind of girl." I laughed and started in the direction of Emily's house. I didn't need Hanna to look after me, but she could help me by interrupting any alone time Maya thought she was going to have with Emily.

* * *

**Emily**

**I've got her. -Hanna**

I sighed in relief when I read Hanna's text. I was worried she wasn't going to catch Paige in time.

Maya insisted we skip the rest of the day and go back to my house. The whole situation was uncomfortable. I knew that she was going to milk the fight between Noel and Paige and use it to get whatever she wants. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what she wanted.

"You haven't been a very good girlfriend Emily. You told me that we could try again, but it seems like you only want to spend time with that Paige girl," Maya said in a condescending tone.

"I am trying," I lied.

"Promise me you won't talk to her anymore."

"I can't do that, she's my friend," I responded, ignoring the fact the Maya probably knew that my feelings for Paige were more than friendly.

"You barely know her." _Well I'm eager to learn more._

"I know enough to know that she is a good person."

"Please, did you see the way she was acting after she hurt Noel. She looked psycho."

"She was protecting herself and me," I said sharply.

"I think you need protection from her."

"Look Maya is there a point to all of this?" I was starting to lose my temper. I knew that Maya was trying to turn me against Paige and it wasn't going to work. If anything it just made me want her around more. "This is pointless. We need to break-up. We gave it a shot and it didn't work. Let's just end it so we can both move on." I dropped my face into my hands. I wanted to remain strong, but I couldn't take everything that was happening. How could I have been so foolish to let Maya in my life multiple times.

"What about Homecoming," Maya asked.

"What about it," I scoffed. I certainly wasn't going to go with her now.

"Well you agreed we would go. I already bought my dress and my ticket. And the dance is in three days. There is no way I'll find someone to go with by then."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," I replied coldly.

"Emily, don't do this. I really haven't done anything to deserve this. Okay, yes, Noel started the fight. Paige was just defending herself. Just give me until Homecoming. If you still don't want to be with me after the dance then I'll walk away. And you can be with Paige or whoever. You have to really try though, meaning spend time with me and no more Paige. If I think you are not really trying then the deal is off." Maya's tone was flat. Something about her proposition made me uneasy, like I was making a deal with the Devil. The dance was this Friday though and the thought of being rid of her in just three days was too good to pass up.

"Okay. Fine. Whatever." As soon as I got the words out Maya lunged at me pinning me underneath her on the bed. She was kissing me frantically. I had a fleetingly feeling of nausea and I tried to move away from her, but she moved with me. I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her lips away from me.

"Doesn't really seem like you are trying, Em. Girlfriends kiss and have sex." She wiggled her eyebrows at me and I scrunched up my nose in disgust. I had always rebuffed Maya's sexual advances, telling her it wasn't the right time. Truth is, I don't know if it was every going to be the right time with her. The more she forced the issue the less I wanted to give in.

She started to kiss me again and I was half-heartedly kissing back. I knew my mom would be home soon and Maya would have to leave. _Three more days, three more days. _It became my mantra. It was bearable until Maya's hand started sneaking up my shirt. I pushed her hand down, but it returned. I pushed it down and this time she moved her hand between my legs. I jolted up knocking her off of me and onto the floor.

"Stop being such a prude! I should be able to touch you by now," she yelled.

"No, you should have learned to listen to me by now! Haven't you ever heard that no mean no and I have told you no repeatedly! This isn't about trying or not trying, this is about you respecting me," I yelled back.

I heard the doorbell ring before I heard someone call out from downstairs.

"Hello, Em? Are you here?" _Thank God. _It was Hanna. I raced downstairs and immediately wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I'm so happy you are here," I said fighting back tears. I looked out to the street and saw Paige. Then it hit my why Hanna was here, Paige was still worried about looking after me. I could run out to her. I knew that she would take me away no questions asked, but it didn't feel right after what I had done to her earlier. She shrugged before starting her bike and driving off.

"Emily, I'll see you tomorrow," Maya said then glanced at Hanna, "alone." Maya tried to kiss me, but I turned away. She squinted a little, but eventually just nodded and left.

As soon as the door was closed I took a huge gasp of air.

"Okay, what happened? What did I just walk into," Hanna asked.

"Will you spend the night please?" I didn't want to be alone tonight.

"Of course, sweetie. Sit down. Tell me what happened."

Tears started flooding my eyes and flowing down my cheeks. Hanna played with my hair while I told her everything that just happened in my bedroom.

"I'm going to kill her. No one messes with my little Emmy. We have to tell someone," Hanna reacted strongly as I expected her to, but I needed her to calm down.

"No, don't tell anyone, especially Paige. The last thing I need is for her to get into another fight." Hanna went back to playing with my hair and I started to feel sleepy. "Just three more days and it will all be over."

I picked up my phone to text Paige.

**I'm so sorry. Are you okay? -Emily**

I feel asleep clutching my phone in my hand.


	12. dance in your pants

**AN: **Ahem, ahem...Bacon, sweet tea, and butter. Cotton candy, cheesecake, and collard green. Pancakes. Bacon. Are you hungry yet Sweet-T? (Insert dirty joke here)

I posted this chapter right away because Saii79 said it was her favorite chapter. And since Saii79 has always been a loyal reader and reviewer I go out of my way for her.

* * *

nein sie wird sich nicht andern

12

**Emily**

The big day had arrived, Homecoming. Despite the fact that I wasn't going to the dance with the person that I wanted to be going with I was still excited for an evening of dancing with my friends.

The days after the fight had been rough. I explained to Paige what Maya had requested in order for her to finally leave me alone. Paige reluctantly agreed to keep her distance from me, but I was struggling to keep my distance from her. Seeing her in class, in the halls, at swim practice, but not being able to even talk to her was torture. Maya had started going to my swim practices, feigning interest, but she was likely just keeping an eye on me. The daily coffee didn't stop though. Every morning Hanna would deliver a coffee to me from Paige. Each one had a note written on the backside of the sleeve. "2 more days until I get to be near you. 1 more day until I get to miss you a little less." Then today's, "Can I take you home right after the dance or do I have to wait until midnight before you can sneak me into your room?" Obviously Paige wasn't making it any easier to stay away from her.

* * *

**Paige**

I never thought that I could ache for someone. I had just always assumed I was above doing things like that, like I had too much control over my emotions to subject myself to pinning over someone. Nobody warned me about Emily Fields though. There is simply no way to prepare yourself for a girl like her. So, here I am, pinning, aching, drooling, fixating over this girl with a megawatt smile. We haven't said much to each other since Tuesday. She explained her situation and even though I was angry about giving into Maya's demands I agreed for Emily's sake. Figuring the relationship was coming to an end I decided not to tell Emily about Maya's cheating. Like I said, it was a form of rejection that I didn't want Emily to have to experience.

It was Friday, the day of the dance. The day Maya's time in Emily's life expires. It was also the day that Emily decided to wear jeans to school. Now, I appreciate everything Emily wears and I would be lying if I said I hadn't run into a few things watching her walk away instead of watching where I was going. That girl cannot go wrong; even in a potato sack her legs would still be on display. However, there was something special about Emily's long, toned legs wrapped tightly in denim. My eyes always explored a little more when she was in jeans. They followed the material's path over her gentle curves until they reached what they really wanted to shamelessly ogle. Bless her heart for lingering a little longer in front of me in English class instead of sitting down right away.

When she did sit down - far too soon for my liking - I leaned over my desk so I could speak softly to her. "Are you going to leave your window unlocked for me tonight?" I heard her gasp at my question, causing the butterflies in my stomach to take flight. I could see the corners of her mouth pull into a grin. Now the butterflies were really wreaking havoc on my boldness. I always tried to keep my cool around Emily, but she always managed to disarm me.

"Not a chance. I have to keep the undesirables out."

"That's fine. I'll just ring the doorbell and explain to Mrs. Fields how I can't possibly stay away from her daughter for another minute and no one is going to stop me from seeing her," I said, only half joking.

"I'll unlock it," she said with a shy smile. "I wish you would change your mind about going to the dance."

Before I could respond, Noel walked into the classroom, thus signaling the end of our conversation. When Emily had asked before if I was going to the dance I told her that high school dances weren't really my thing. I would make an exception if she needed a date though. Enduring a few hours at a corny dance would be a small price to pay to spend the night dancing with Emily. Instead, Maya, someone so completely undeserving of Emily's time, was getting the privilege of being with Emily tonight, while I was stuck having to work. I would rather be working, though, than spending the night at home fretting over what was happening at the dance.

While everyone's face was buried in their copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird, _Emily took the opportunity to subtly hand me a note. _If I told you my dress is short, tight, and strapless would it change your mind? _Of course it would, because I would be going to the dance to threaten anyone that dared looked at her. Deciding to forgo the note so I could be close to her again, I made sure Noel wasn't watching and leaned forward to whisper to her again. "How about a private viewing after the dance?"

She turned her face towards mine so that Noel wouldn't be able to hear her response. "Am I really going to get to see you tonight?"

"Just try to stop me," I replied before leaning back in my chair.

* * *

Work was going by painfully slow. Hanna's text message earlier in the day explaining to me how stunning Emily looked and how I better "scoop Emily up before someone else does" didn't help. It was almost time for the dance to start and I wanted so badly to be there with Emily. I considered sending Hanna another text asking how Emily was doing, but I decided against it. Just a few more hours and this will all be over.

When I heard the bell above the door chime, I looked up to greet the new patron. I smiled in recognition of the now familiar face. "Hi, Shana."

"Well if it isn't my favorite bartender. Have you changed your mind about my offer," Shana asked bluntly.

"Sorry, the answer is still no. Are you on the prowl by yourself tonight?" Maya was at the dance with Emily so I assumed Shana was by herself unless Shana had multiple girlfriends too.

"No, Maya is parking the car."

I immediately felt sick as all of my air left my body. Maya was here, with Shana, meaning Emily is alone. The image of a gorgeously made-up Emily sitting alone flashed in my head and I was furious. Maya was never planning on going to that dance, she just wanted to get the opportunity to stand Emily up. "Un-fucking-believable," I snapped as I grabbed my jacket. "Red I have to go. It's an emergency."

"Do what you gotta do, Girly. We're fine without you tonight," Red replied.

As I rushed for the door I ran into the girl I suddenly despised more than any other person in the world. "How could you do this to her Maya?" I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to calm myself before I did something I would regret. I've never hit a girl before, but at that point I wasn't even sure if Maya qualified as human, much less a woman deserving of any sort of respect.

"Please, Emily got what she deserves. Now she's sitting alone feeling rejected and it serves her right for breaking up with me," Maya twisted her face into a nefarious smirk.

Before I could respond, Shana was next to me. She seemed to feel the tension immediately and chose to stay by my side instead of Maya's. It was odd, but angry look Maya gave Shana had me feeling a little pleased. I put my arm around Shana and she nuzzled into my neck. It was innocent, but I think we were both done with Maya and wanted to put her in her place. Maya's eyes were burning with anger now. Yet another girl was rejecting her. "Don't feel too bad, Shana has been looking to replace you for a while," I said to Maya with my own smug smirk.

"It's true, I have." Shana nodded.

Maya let out a forced, fake laugh. "You think I care about her. I've already outgrown her." Shana laughed in amusement at Maya's attempt to brush the rejection aside.

"Well I would love to stay and chat, but I have a dance to get to. And thanks Maya, because now I get to be Emily's date and from what I heard about her dress, I'm in for quite the treat," I said, then made my way towards that parking lot.

"Good luck with that, you would need the jaws of life to pry that girl's legs apart. She's such a frigid prude." I'm sure Maya meant that as an insult to Emily, but it made me happy for two reasons: one, Maya had never _enjoyed_ Emily and two, I had more ammunition against Maya now.

"You know, Maya, whenever a girl won't give it up it's not their fault, it's yours. Let me guess, you tried to rush her, didn't make her feel safe. She probably sensed that you are over compensating for a lack of self-confidence. My guess is that you are not as skilled in bed as you want everyone to believe. Am I right, Shana?" I looked to Shana waiting for her answer.

"It's true. She can't take direction and she doesn't have any instincts," Shana replied with a big smile. I can tell that she was enjoying getting this off of her chest.

"Ouch, that's the worst combination, Maya." I turned my attention to Shana. "I'm so sorry, how did you deal with that," I asked with an exaggerated concerned tone.

"It was tough, but I have other girls that took care of me. I would have drawn a map for Maya if I thought that would help. She's a lost cause though," Shana said with a laugh. "But you're not, are you Paige?"

"I'm not. I have killer instincts, can take directions, and I can read a map," I confirmed.

"Oh the trifecta," Shana said with a wink.

Maya stood in front of us for a moment, effectively silenced. The silence was starting to get awkward as Shana and I watched as Maya desperately try to come up with something to say to save face.

"Well, Emily isn't going to twirl herself so I should get going." I continued towards the parking lot.

"You're a bitch," Maya yelled to me. _Five minutes of think time and that's all she could come up with. Pathetic._

I overhead Shana's response to Maya, "Yeah, but you're the only one going home alone aren't you? She's got your girl and she's hotter than you."

* * *

**Emily**

Maya had texted me and told me that she was going to miss our pre-dance dinner, but she swore that she would be on time for the dance. My friends were gracious, of course, all of them choosing to sit by me instead of sitting next to their dates. It made it less obvious that I was alone. Except an hour into the dance I am sitting at a table by myself. The girls were taking turns keeping me company, but a slow song was playing and I told them to dance with their dates. A few people had asked me to dance, but, truthfully I wasn't in the mood to dance. I felt so foolish. Maya had probably been planning this, she likely wanted to ruin my night and I let her. Not only did I let her ruin my night, but also my week. I couldn't believe that I let someone so manipulative have so much control over my happiness.

Deciding to just go home and wait for Paige to get off work, I scanned the crowd looking for at least one of my friends. When my eyes found her, I couldn't look away. _Paige. _The lights were flashing around the room offering broken glimpses of her. Once I finally got enough pieces I realized that she looked stunning. The loose waves of her auburn hair were falling passed her shoulders. She was dressed in a women's cut, pin-tuck tuxedo shirt. The shirt was pressed neatly and tucked in, but the cuffs were rolled up to just above her wrists. I noticed that she was wearing a bow tie, but instead of tying it, she let it hang loosely around her neck. _Of course Paige would show up casually looking like she has already been here for hours. _A light moved across her chest and I noticed that her shirt was unbuttoned to the top of her black bra. I wasn't sure I was going to get my mind to stop spinning after seeing that. The only reason I was able to look away from her chest was because I wanted to see the rest. Working my way down the rest of her body with my gaze, I admired the tight black pants she was wearing and her ankle high boots. _Always in her boots..._I couldn't help but smile.

When she found me we held each other's gaze from across the room until she slowly started to make her way over to me. A little too slowly. Since I was not feeling patient I took matters into my own hands and rushed to meet her. When our bodies met with a thud, I grabbed onto her like I never wanted to let go. It felt so good when she did the same.

"What are you doing here," I asked, but didn't really care. All that mattered was that she was here.

"I'm here for you. I didn't want you to be alone," she offered a slight smile to me. I could tell that she had something to tell me and she was worried how I would react.

"Spill, Paige," I said just wanted her to get it over with.

"Maya was at my work with another girl. I couldn't stand the thought of you being here alone, especially when I knew you would be the most beautiful girl in this place. I left work and now here I am. I know that you are probably hurt, but if you let me keep you company I promise you'll have a good time ." She looked at me with her slightly cocky grin.

_Duh, I want you to keep me company. _"Oh, yeah? How good," I teased.

"I'm going to dance with you, be charming, and bring you a drink when you get thirsty." She did a little arm roll that made me laugh.

I wasn't hurt about Maya. I felt relief instead. Besides Paige was more than enough to make up for any pain I might have felt. Perfectly complicated Paige. She was always doing little things for me: looking out for me, bringing me Cliff bars because she knows that I'm hungry before swim practice. After practice she would wrap my towel around me first before drying herself off with her own towel. Even though I knew she was far from ready for a relationship. She was still holding back a lot, I knew that she was giving me all that she could give me right now. Just this small amount was so much more than anyone had given me before. I had to be patient with her from now on. I had been pushing her out of her comfort zone and she was doing her best to not back away. I just wanted her to feel safe around me like I do around her. This was a turning point for us. It was clear that we cared about each other and now Maya wasn't in our way; we needed to start building.

"Paige," she was staring towards the dance floor. Nodding her head the music with a goofy grin on her face. My smile widened.

"Hmm..." she hummed not even looking at me.

I pulled her face towards me, needing to make sure she was listening. "I'm sorry that I've been pushing you for something you are not ready for." She shifted her body so she was facing me. "I would like us to be friends. Just friend. You can talk to me...or not talk to me about anything. I'll be there for you. I want us to take our time with this. Let it happen when we are both completely ready. But I also want you to know that you are the one that I want to be with."

The smile she gave me made me melt. "Just friends is perfect. I'm trying, Em. I just don't want to mess anything up with us again. Not after we got off to such a disastrous start. And if you need anything you can always come to me," she winked and it made my stomach flip. _Dammit Paige, do you not understand what friends means?_

"I _need_ something right now actually."

She leaned closer to me. "Oh yeah, and what is that," she asked.

"To dance." I grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. I had no idea what to expect from Paige in terms of dancing, but what I saw shocked me. She was _good, _moving her body perfectly in time with the music. She was gracefully and sexy. While most girls became something for their dates to dry hump, my date was actually _dancing_ with me.

"Where did you learn to dance," I asked into her ear so she could hear me.

"YouTube," she responded with a wink. I pulled her into a hug and laughed. The fact that she was still dancing in our hug wasn't lost on me. Taking hold of my waist, she slid her leg in between mine and rocked side to side. It was innocent enough, but it driving me crazy. I used her bow tie to pull her face closer to mine.

"Seriously, where? Because you did not learn how to do this from a video."

"Haven't you ever heard of Double Dream Hands?" Paige thinks she is hilarious. "I started taking dance lessons when I was little. The lessons were my mom's idea. She wanted me to be her little ballerina. When we had to move to Philly I learned other forms of dance as a way to cope, since I no longer had the right body type for ballet," she explained. It was the most information about her past that she had willingly shared with me so far. I wanted to know more.

She broke away from our hug and started to glide around me in a circle. I wanted to watch her feet, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her face. She bit her lip in the cutest way while she was doing it, like it was part of the dance. Her head was still bobbing the beat. When she was in front of me again she took hold of my hand and twirled me away from her. Then she moved towards me and wrapped her arms around me mid-twirl, pressing my back into her front. My breath hitched when I felt her start to roll her body against mine. If this is what it felt like to be "just friends" with Paige then I was perfectly okay with being her friend. Although, I couldn't stop myself from imagining how good it must feel to be more than a friend.

Without warning, she wasn't holding me anymore. I looked behind me, but she was gone. I jumped when I felt one of her hands on my calf; her other hand was sliding my heels off.

"What do you think you're doing? The shoes go with the dress," I protested.

She looked up at me with a mischievous smile that made my knees weaken. _Okay, I don't even need to know the reason. Just please keep looking at me like that. _She stood up again, keeping her face dangerously close to my body. When her face was level with mine she whispered in my ear.

"Trust me, you're going to want them off." She threw my shoes over by the chair. "And I don't want you stabbing me when you step on me with your clumsy feet." She laughed playfully.

"Umm excuse me, I am not clumsy," I pushed her away, but she grabbed me and pulled me into her hard. She was holding me impossibly close to her with distinctive intensity in her eyes. When she undulated her body against mine I let out an involuntary moan. I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in the feeling of her body. My lips lingered right above the skin on her neck; not enough to be considered a kiss, but enough for her to be aware of how close I was to her. Her breathing was shuddered; her hands tightened on my hips. _Just friends, just friends just friends_, I silently repeated to myself. Getting carried away would be too easy right now. I needed to stop this, but she just felt so...damn...good. _Maybe just until the end of the song._

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought me back to Earth. "May I cut in?" I rolled my eyes when I realized it was Spencer.

"No," I groaned into Paige's neck. Laughter vibrated through Paige's body.

"Emily, it's customary for Paige to answer that question."

"Sorry Spencer. There is no way I'm letting Emily go tonight unless she tells me that's what she wants," Paige spoke with confidence and resolution. It was the kind of tone that both impressed and annoyed Spencer. I finally turned my head to look at Spencer and she gave me a small, approving smile. Deep down I think she was happy that I found someone who wasn't afraid to stand up to her for me.

"Fair enough," Spencer shrugged. "You better take care of her," she cautioned Paige.

Paige gave Spencer a charming smile. "I will," she said.

Spencer left us to return to a waiting Toby. And I returned to nuzzle Paige's waiting neck.

"She's terrifying," Paige said in mocked fright. "I mean, I wasn't planning on taking care of you before, but now I'm afraid not to," she teased.

"She'll be very happy to hear that," I murmured, focused more on the sensation of Paige than trying to speak clearly. "Paige, we need to stop," I said reluctantly, still clinging to her body. "We are supposed to be just friends."

"I know. Friends. Best, best friends," she said with a sigh, slowly increasing the space between us. Suddenly, the song changed and Paige's eyes lit up.

_Can't count the years on one hand_

_That we've been together_

_I need the other one to hold you_

_Make you feel, make you feel better_

_It's not a walk in the park_

_To love each other_

_But when our fingers interlock_

_Can't deny, can't deny you're worth it_

She moved away from me gracefully swaying her hips. Gesturing for me to come get her with her fingers, biting her lip through a smile. I really couldn't resist an offer like that. When I reached her she twirled me again, and again, then she twirled herself, before dipping me. It was amazing seeing her like this, being so carefree. She was a good dancer, but wasn't afraid to make a fool of herself. In rhythm, of course, she had standards. I made a mental note to get Paige to dance more. For her sake and for mine. I couldn't remember the last time I smiled this much. She followed through on her promise, I was having a great time.

Sometime during the last hour of the dance, my friends and I all migrated back together. Hanna seemed to be stealing any chance she could to dance with Paige. I couldn't really blame her for her enthusiasm, Paige was a treat to dance with and she kept Hanna laughing. Soon I was having to compete with Hanna and Aria, but when it was time for the last song I made sure I had all of Paige's attention.

_If I lose myself tonight_

_It'll be by your side_

"Can I give you a ride home," Paige asked as we swayed together slowly.

"On your motorcycle? I'm in a dress."

"I bought a blanket so you can cover yourself and I'll let you have my jacket so you don't get cold," Paige grinned.

"Yes please, I would like that."

* * *

**Paige**

I drove a little slower than necessary to Emily's house, not wanting the night to end. Feeling Emily's arms wrapped around my waist while the wind whipped around us, squeezing me tighter when we went around curves, it was easily my new favorite feeling. When we arrived at her house I kept her arms in place with mine for just a moment longer, trying to commit the sensation to memory.

We walked to her door hand in hand, but I was lost in thought. Emily was willing to wait for me. She was excepting what I was giving her, allowing me time to heal and grow. I don't know what I did to deserve this exquisite woman, but I had to take the opportunity she was giving me. No more pushing her away when things got to honest.

"Can I see you tomorrow," I asked, not really having a plan other than wanting to be around her.

"You better," she said with a megawatt smile.

I stood at the bottom step waiting to make sure she was safely in her house.

"Emily, wait please," I called out. She turned back to me as I jumped the steps to her porch. "I know we said just friends, but I have this overwhelming desire to kiss you. I feel like a girl like you should not be without a goodnight kiss on a night like this." I took her face in my hands and studied her, waiting for permission. When she put her hands on my hips and closed her eyes I smiled, knowing she was accepting. The kiss started out tender and lingering, but when I pulled away Emily shook her head and whispered "more". My hands wrapped around her waist and bringing her body closer to me as I captured her lips again. Her hands gripped the back of my neck trapping our lips together. When she softy nipped my bottom lip I couldn't contain my need for her anymore. I found her tongue with mine and walked her backwards towards the door.

Kissing someone really takes a toll on a person's memory, like the memory of the door being opened a crack. When I pressed her against the door it unexpectedly swung all the way open sending us crashing to the floor. I moved my hand just cradle her head just before it hit the floor, but she took the full weight of my body. Panicked, I quickly tried to get off of her, but she started to laugh and held me close to her.

"Paige, I thought you were smooth. What happened," she teased through laughter.

"Hey, when I'm kissing you, a door is the last thing I'm thinking about." We were both laughing now when a light clicked on in the upstairs hallway.

"Emmy, is that you," Mrs. Fields called out.

"Get up, get up." Now Emily was the one panicking. We scrambled to our feet and smoothed out our clothes just as Mrs. Fields walked around the corner. She eyed us suspiciously before focusing her eyes on me.

"I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Pam, Emily's mother," she said as she extend her hand towards me. I shook her hand and introduced myself.

"Mom, I was just saying goodnight to Paige. She drove me home," Emily explained.

Mrs. Fields peeked out the front door and pointed to my motorcycle. "On that," she questioned.

"Yes, ma'am, but I can assure you I was very careful getting her here," I said.

"Too bad you weren't as careful kissing her goodnight," Mrs. Fields smiled softly. I noticed Emily blush before she buried her face into my shoulder. "Emily, I'm going back to bed. You should probably get to bed soon...alone. Goodnight Paige, it was nice meeting you. Get home safely."

"Nice meeting you, Mrs. Fields," I replied.

Once her mom had gone upstairs Emily started to laugh again. "I'm so sorry about that."

"You're sorry? I'm the one that pushed you through the door," I teased. "But at least I got to meet your mom."

Emily laughed, "not the way I intended you to meet her."

"Spontaneous is better anyway. I better get going. You have to get to bed..._alone_," I nudged Emily with my elbow.

"Text me and let me know you got home, please."

"I will," I said before giving her a chaste kiss.

I started my bike and looked back to see Emily standing the doorway looking at me. My heart fluttered in my chest seeing her standing in the only light breaking through the darkness. The significance was not lost on me. _No more holding back _I thought as a rode off.


End file.
